The What, Who and Why of Conspiracy Theories

massacree ‎(plural massacrees)

1. (colloquial) A sequence of events so absurd, complicated and uncommon as to be unbelievable.

• Conspiracy theories are not always false.
• Conspiracy theorists are not all mentally ill. However, there is a link to human psychology.
• About half of Americans believe at least one or more conspiracy theories.

In principle, conspiracy theories are not always false by default and their validity depends on evidence just as in any theory. However, they are often discredited as a given due to their cumbersome and improbable nature of many of them.

Psychologists usually attribute belief in conspiracy theories and finding a conspiracy where there is none to a number of psychopathological conditions such as paranoia, schizotypy, narcissism, insecure attachment, etc.

However, the current scientific consensus holds that most conspiracy theorists are not pathological, precisely because their beliefs ultimately rely on cognitive tendencies that are neurologically hardwired in humans and probably have deep origins, including natural inclinations towards anxiety and agency detection.