From Nibiru to climate change not being real, conspiracy theories seem to be ever present in our lives. Quashing them can be difficult, though, as they constantly seem to be rearing their heads in one form or another.
Now, two separate studies have suggested why people think the Moon landings were faked, vaccines cause autism, and more. They suggest people might believe in conspiracy theories in order to feel unique.
As picked up by PsyPost, the two studies are available in Social Psychology and the European Journal of Social Psychology.
The former was titled “I know things they don’t know!”. More than 1,000 people took part. The researchers found that people who supported conspiracy theories were more likely to think they had information no one else had.
They also found that those who wanted to be more unique were also more likely to believe a particular theory. The same was true for people that were encouraged to be unique.
How can you be unique when you are joining a cabal of people who are spouting the same nonsense?
I knoooowwwww
They may be joining in a group that is spouting nonsense, but usually they are the only one in the room doing so, giving the illusion that they have a unique perspective in their own minds.