Conspiracy/Belief

Conspiracy/Belief
Belief of a "conspiracy theorist" in a "conspiracy theory"

The "conspiracy belief" is a component of academic study of "conspiracy theories". Distinct from the theory itself, it refers to the belief of a "conspiracy theorist" in a "conspiracy theory".

Minority view?

The academic study of "conspiracy theories" sometimes assumes that “[Conspiracy beliefs] are — almost by definition — not shared by the majority of people.” This does not sit easily with the general inclusion of doubt about Lee Harvey Oswald as the "lone nut" behind the JFK Assassination under the label of "conspiracy theory", which the majority of US citizens subscribe to.

Negative correlation with education

Jan-Willem van Prooijen and Karen Douglas write that “belief in conspiracy theories is positively associated with intuitive rather than analytic thinking. Consistently, higher education predicts lower conspiracy beliefs, a finding that is partly mediated by a tendency among the less educated to attribute agency and intentionality where it does not exist, and stronger analytic thinking skills among the higher educated.” Peter Dale Scott advances an alternative explanation for the same observation — that people of higher social status are less inclined to criticise the validity of the social system in which they have that status.

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