Belief in Conspiracies Can Lead to Contradictions [View all]
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... a new study suggests that the attraction to conspiracy theories can lead some to endorse entirely contradictory beliefs.
Researchers discovered people who endorse conspiracy theories see authorities as fundamentally deceptive. This belief that the “official story” is untrue can lead people to believe several alternative theories – despite contradictions among them.
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To see if conspiracy views were strong enough to lead to inconsistencies, the researchers asked 137 college students about the death of Princess Diana.
The more people thought there “was an official campaign by the intelligence service to assassinate Diana,” the more they also believed that “Diana faked her own death to retreat into isolation.”
By the way, Diana cannot be simultaneously dead and alive.
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Thus, belief in a conspiracy is so strong that it blinds individuals who can then believe completely inconsistent ideas.
[font style="color:#ffffff; font-size:0.4615em;"]http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/01/27/belief-in-conspiracy-theories-can-lead-to-contradictions/34163.html[/font]
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