See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/267631196

Conspiracies

Chapter · January 2014

CITATIONS READS
0 235

3 authors, including:

Michael Williams Deborah Davis

Georgia State University University of Nevada, Reno
19 PUBLICATIONS   65 CITATIONS    86 PUBLICATIONS   1,641 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Michael Williams on 01 November 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Encyclopedia of Lying and Deception

Conspiracies
Almost nothing is as it seems. World events are guided by the unseen hands of elite, secretive, self-interested,
and/or malevolent groups. Everything is connected. What may appear to be unrelated accidents, coincidences, or
even insignificant occurrences in world affairs are actually integrated components of complex plots to control the
world. The truth is actively suppressed and misrepresented to the masses by these powerful but unseen conspirators
and their puppets: the mainstream media. Members of the “establishment” cannot be trusted. Evil is everywhere
afoot!

Such beliefs are but a few of the suspicions reflected in the many conspiracy theories promoted by
“conspiracists” (proponents of conspiracy theories) throughout the world. Conspiracy theories have in common the
belief that an organization of individuals or groups is acting (or has acted) covertly and deceptively to achieve a
malevolent end. However, the theories vary widely including the purported size of the group(s) of conspirators, the
scope of their goals and activities, the destructiveness of their intent, and the variety of separate events allegedly
connected to the conspiracy.

World Domination

Perhaps the most expansive of conspiracy theories concern the New World Order,” alleging that global affairs are
controlled behind the scenes by a group of international elites manipulating entire governments, and controlling
financial institutions, industry, and media organizations worldwide. Variations of New World Order theories feature
such alleged conspirators as international bankers, Jews, Freemasons, or the Illuminati. The Bavarian Illuminati
formed in 1776 with the purpose of eliminating religious and political control in their society, but it was dismantled
nearly 10 years later. No evidence of their continued existence is available, yet some conspiracists continue to assert
that those who would deny the Illuminati’s current existence are deceiving themselves. The persistence of such
conspiratorial beliefs stems, at least in part, from seminal texts of John Robinson and Abbe Barruel, written in the
late 18th and early 19th centuries, that have inspired others to write about the extent of the Illuminati’s power
throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Another world domination theory—the purported Judeo-Masonic world-
domination conspiracy—is described in the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

While some world-domination conspiracy theories implicate secular individuals or groups, others
implicate religious groups or figures. The Anti-Christ is prominent among individuals expected to create a New
World Order, initially deceiving the world by disguising his identity, to lead the creation of a one-world
government. Countless individuals have at times been accused of being the Anti-Christ, including Roman Emperor
Nero, Adolf Hitler, Ronald Regan, Saddam Hussein, Barak Obama, and even the Catholic pope.

Control of Information and Technology

Other relatively sweeping conspiracies are alleged to control information or technology, and largely implicate
governments or businesses presumed to benefit from collection of information, propagation of deceptive
misinformation, or suppression of technology. Popular conspiracy theories in this class include the theory that the
military-industrial complex is designed to promote and profit from war; suppression of alternative fuel technologies
by Big Oil and gas; suppression of alternative medicine by mainstream medicine; climate scientists’ fabrication of
evidence of global warming to achieve power, research funding, or other financial gain (and the reverse conspiracy
of big business to deny global warming); Bible conspiracy theories alleging that much of the Bible is deceptive;
secret groups alleged to possess control of the bloodline of Jesus (as portrayed in the novel The Da Vinci Code).

Among the most popular conspiracy theories in this class is that of government lies regarding evidence of
space-alien visitations. While many conspiracy theories are promoted largely on the Internet or other relatively less
publicized sources, theories of alien visitations, and their cover-ups, are widespread in books, movies, television,
and other media. Some extraterrestrial conspiracy theories suggest the U.S. government has conspired with aliens
who abducted citizens—essentially bartering human rights for alien technology—and collaborated to suppress those
who would report such activities. Numerous books, as well as popular movies and TV shows such as The X Files or
Men in Black reflect such theories. Arguably, conspiracies involving the existence of aliens and associated
Encyclopedia of Lying and Deception

government cover-ups are among the most popular and enduring in U.S. culture (witness the widespread awareness
of Area 51 and its depiction in popular media). Despite this widespread acceptance in popular culture of the
existence of aliens, the government maintains there is no factual basis for such beliefs.

Harm, Suppression, or Control of Populations

A number of conspiracy theories allege lying or deceptive activities by governments designed to harm, suppress, or
control their populations. For example, collection of vast amounts of private information by government agencies;
creation of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus by the Central Intelligence Agency (or other
secretive government agency) as a tool for genocide/ population control; or fluoridation of water supplies to render
populations submissive, to cover disposal of industrial waste, or for other nefarious purposes.

Single Perpetrator or Single Event Conspiracies

Conspiracy theories far less sweeping in scope address primarily single perpetrators (for example, President Bill
Clinton and his alleged body count or assassinated associates) or single events (for example, conspiracies
surrounding the downing of Pan Am Flight 103). Many such conspiracies have surrounded assassinations (President
John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or Malcolm X) or deaths (Princess Diana, actress Marilyn Monroe, or
union organizer Jimmy Hoffa).

A subcategory of such theories is called False Flag Operations, referring to attacks by governments or
other entities designed to appear as if carried out by another. Perhaps the most widely discussed such theory among
the U.S. citizenry is the allegation that the U.S. government lied to, and deceived, the general public regarding the
actual perpetrators of the attacks on September 11, 2001. This conspiracy alleges that the U.S. government itself
perpetrated the attacks (or, alternatively, that the government knew of the attacks in advance, but did nothing to
prevent them) in order to garner support for the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

These are only a few of the countless types and examples of widespread conspiratorial thinking among the
populations of the world. But are these conspiracies real? If not, why have they been so popular, infecting popular
thought throughout history?

Causes and Correlates of Conspiratorial Thinking

Conspiracy theories tend to have in common a dearth of credible supporting evidence in the face of substantial,
credible contradictory evidence. Evidence on which conspiracists depend for the maintenance of their ideologies is
considered stigmatized knowledge, because of its lack of official recognition in mainstream society. Why then, do
conspiracists believe and defend them so strongly? What kinds of people are most likely to do so?

The Nature of Human Cognition

Conspiracists are often thought of as oddballs, those on the fringe of society who have some defect of character or
deficiency of intellect that has led their thinking astray. But psychologist Michael Schermer has argued that modern
conspiracists simply suffer an evolutionarily valuable, but overly developed, set of three fundamental cognitive
skills and tendencies. First is the ability to detect patterns and connections in their experiences, such as when a
rustling in the bushes might be associated with a tiger’s movements, darkening of the sky with an impending storm,
or a particular shoot with an edible root. Evolutionary theory suggests that those most skilled at detecting such
associations would be best able to avoid danger, attain nourishment, and survive to reproduce. Of course, any
learned association is fallible; the rustling sound could be no more than the wind. But when it came to potentially
life-threatening events, it was better to be safe than sorry. Consequently, the genes from those suspicious and
scared, yet safe, ancestors still flows through the veins of modern-day humans, giving rise to the potential for overly
active pattern detectors to misperceive patterns that do not exist. From this perspective, the potential to make
Encyclopedia of Lying and Deception

strange associations—to form conspiracy theories—comes from humans’ evolved ability to make otherwise
mundane associations.
However, the ability to learn patterns is insufficient to cause conspiratorial thinking. The second essential
ingredient is the human tendency to believe that things happen for a reason: that events are caused by seen, or
unseen, causal agents. Evolutionary theory suggests this tendency came about as humans learned to avoid carriers
of contagious diseases. Those who believed an unseen but malevolent causal agent made the carrier ill would be
more likely to avoid the carrier and therefore to avoid illness and survive. This tendency to assume that intentional
agents are behind otherwise unintentional events is exacerbated by humans’ ability to have insight into their own
thinking, and to infer the thoughts of others. In short, humans are capable of planning and acting—including lying
and deceiving—on purpose to achieve those plans; they are also aware that others do the same. Therefore, this
intellectual capacity gives rise to the notion that events happening around people may be due to the planning and
actions (and, perhaps, lies and deceptions) of others. When those events appear malevolent, the stage is set to
assume that they are part of a conspiracy. From this perspective, conspiratorial thinking is a natural byproduct of
the human ability to learn, to plan, and to infer that others do the same.
Though the tendency to develop a belief in conspiracies is dependent upon these first two aspects of
evolved cognition, the tendency to maintain and defend such beliefs in the face of apparently overwhelming
contradictory evidence requires a third tendency: to interpret information and experiences as consistent with what
people already believe. This tendency is a by-product of the human-evolved ability to categorize automatically
objects and experiences based on already existing beliefs about their nature. This automatic categorization allows
people to know what to expect and how to react to objects or circumstances. Though generally helpful, these belief-
based expectancies can also mislead people to interpret their experiences as more consistent with their expectancies
than warranted. Strong belief in conspiracies can support suspicion of the contradictory evidence provided by
(presumably deceptive and malevolent) authorities, or unwarranted belief of unscientific or otherwise incredible
“evidence” provided by fringe sources with lesser credentials but greater presumed trustworthiness.

Face-Saving and Social Support

Belief in conspiracies and secret societies can offer face-saving benefits for conspiracists. The thought that one’s
experiences are predestined or controlled by others can allow one to maintain a reduced sense of responsibility for
one’s actions and the state of one’s life, and thereby reduce shame and maintain self-esteem. In short, by blaming
lies they have been told, or deceptions perpetrated upon them, conspiracists can soften the blow to their self-esteem
that otherwise taking responsibility for their lives’ shortcomings would tend to produce. Such beliefs may also
provide social connection and support through conspiracists’ associations with communities of like-minded people.
In other words, those who feel they have been victims of lies or deceptions, endemic to conspiracies, may find
comfort among their like-minded peers.

Personality

Two personality traits have been associated with belief in conspiracies. Those with an external locus of control
(who tend to believe that life is largely out of their control because of constraints placed upon them by others) tend
to believe more in conspiracies than those with an internal locus of control (those who tend to believe that they can
make things happen, and that they can control both their current situation and their destiny). This makes sense,
given that belief in conspiracies requires individuals to believe that a deceptive and malevolent game beyond their
control is afoot. Moreover, those high in psychoticism (that is, those who have trouble distinguishing the real from
the unreal) are more likely to believe in conspiracies. They are likely to be highly creative and excellent at pattern
recognition, but relatively impaired at recognizing when those patterns are imaginary, or random, rather than
meaningful. Therefore, such individuals are prone to believing that things are not as they appear: that they have
been lied to, or otherwise deceived.

Environmental Factors

At least two environmental factors encourage conspiratorial thinking. The first is uncertainty. The more
unpredictable an event, the further the imagination must stretch to make sense of it, leaving more room for error in
Encyclopedia of Lying and Deception

the process. Such sense-making (even if through a seemingly far-fetched conspiracy theory) can render events
seemingly more predictable: allowing the person to envision means of self-protection, and—thereby—helping to
restore a sense of security. Second, increasingly dangerous events promote greater need to understand their causes
and to avoid future danger. All conspiracies entail an element of danger and the unknown: the precise ingredients
that cause some people to concoct conspiracy theories that appear to explain them. In the quest to attain a sense of
certainty, control, and security, an implausible explanation is superior to no explanation at all. In other words, for
conspiracists, self-deception is preferable to reality insofar as it renders the world more understandable/predictable,
and if it allows them to take steps to safeguard themselves against their (imaginary) foes.

The tragic September 11th attacks are excellent examples of how uncertainty and danger can give birth to
conspiracy theories. Virtually no one expected a plane, much less four planes, to be used as weapons on U.S. soil.
If terrorists could coordinate such elaborate surprise attacks, what else could they do next? It was as though the
United States, if not the world, waited for the proverbial shoe to drop, as evidenced by widespread security measures
quickly tightened in government buildings and airports.

The fears and uncertainties prompted by the September 11th attacks gave rise to a crop of conspiracy
theories alleging orchestration of the attacks by U.S. leaders. Given the human need for a sense of security,
especially in the face of unpredictable danger, such a conspiracy theory may be preferable to reality: affording the
relatively comforting belief that the United States was not under attack, but that U.S. leaders had merely lied to and
deceived the public, to grab more money and power through control of oil in the Middle East.

Some Conspiracies are Real: How to Tell the Difference

Real conspiracies can and do exist, and excellent guidelines have been offered to help people recognize when a
conspiracy is almost certainly illusory. In keeping with the scientific method, begin by assuming that any given
theory is false (i.e., a lie). The burden of proof rests with conspiracists, and exceptional claims require exceptional
evidence.

Such proof also requires every link in the chain of reason, not just some of them, to be logically connected,
culminating necessarily at the conclusion. As for the conclusion, no other plausible explanations should account for
the events. If there is more than one plausible explanation, abide in Occam’s Razor; favor the simplest explanation,
the one with the fewest “moving parts.” Conspiracy theories are particularly likely to be lies when those allegedly
involved must have near-superhuman powers to pull them off; when they are very complex and require many
elements to occur and interlock successfully; when many actors (who must have kept silent about their activities) are
involved; when they are particularly widespread in scope; or when they comingle facts with speculation with little
distinction between the two.

As with any theory, conspiracy theories should have multiple sources of evidence from multiple,
independent, objectively verifiable sources. Humans—including conspiracists and scientists alike—have a tendency
to believe information in favor of their theories and disbelieve contrary evidence (known as “confirmation bias”).
By following these guidelines, one may hope to avoid that bias, and the host of previously mentioned mental biases,
that can distort one’s perception of reality.

Michael J. Williams
University of Nevada, Reno

Lindsay Perez
University of Nevada, Reno

Deborah Davis
University of Nevada, Reno

See Also: Aroused Suspicion; Collusion; Denial; Distrust; Fantasy and Imagination; Government, Decline of Public
Trust in; Self-Deception; Self-Esteem.
 Encyclopedia of Lying and Deception

Further Readings
Barkun, Michael. A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Los Angeles: University
of California Press, 2006.

Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996.

Schermer, Michael. The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct
Veliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. New York: Times Books, 2011.

View publication stats