Ep. 209 - The Doctor Is In Series - The TRUTH Behind Conspiracy Theories

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.

In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie are discussing: Conspiracy theories. They will talk about what makes a Conspiracy Theory and why we believe them. [May 1, 2023]

00:00 – Intro

00:17 – Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro

00:59 – Intro Links

• Social-Engineer.com– http://www.social-engineer.com/
• Managed Voice Phishing– https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/
• Managed Email Phishing– https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/
• Adversarial Simulations– https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/
• Social-Engineer channel on SLACK– https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb
• CLUTCH– http://www.pro-rock.com/
• org– http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/

04:45 – The Topic of the Day: The TRUTH Behind Conspiracy Theories

05:54 – What is a Conspiracy Theory?

07:39 – What’s the harm?

10:20 – WHY???

11:17 – Pattern Seekers

13:15 – Cognitive Closure

17:04 – The Role of Critical Thinking

19:18 – An Existential Element

20:41 – Don’t Forget the Lizards!

22:35 – What about Bigfoot?

24:30 – Escapism

30:15 – Reading the Emotions

32:29 – Social Motive

33:31 – Emotions vs Critical Thinking

36:42 – Prove Me Wrong!

39:09 – The Takeaway: Empathy

40:57 – Wrap Up & Outro

• social-engineer.com
• innocentlivesfoundation.org

Find us online:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbiejmarono
• LinkedIn: com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd-35ab2611a
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/humanhacker
• LinkedIn: com/in/christopherhadnagy

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Bost, P. R., & Prunier, S. G. (2013). Rationality in conspiracy beliefs: The role of perceived motive. Psychological Reports, 113, 118–128

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