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121-475: (Redirected from Truthers ) Truther may refer to: 9/11 truth movement member or believer Truther, a believer in conspiracy theories See also [ edit ] Among the Truthers , a 2011 book about conspiracy theorists Birtherism Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

242-427: A conspiracy ; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians . Conspiracy theories tend to be internally consistent and correlate with each other; they are generally designed to resist falsification either by evidence against them or

363-538: A famine , at a time when three million people in the country were suffering from hunger . Conspiracy theories are a significant obstacle to improvements in public health , encouraging opposition to such public health measures as vaccination and water fluoridation . They have been linked to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases . Other effects of conspiracy theories include reduced trust in scientific evidence , radicalization and ideological reinforcement of extremist groups, and negative consequences for

484-489: A scientific theory can be disproven by a single perceived deficiency, even though such events are extremely rare. In addition, both disregarding the claims and attempting to address them will be interpreted as proof of a conspiracy. Other conspiracist arguments may not be scientific; for example, in response to the IPCC Second Assessment Report in 1996, much of the opposition centered on promoting

605-413: A "crippled epistemology", in which a person encounters or accepts very few relevant sources of information. A conspiracy theory is more likely to appear justified to people with a limited "informational environment" who only encounter misleading information. These people may be " epistemologically isolated" in self-enclosed networks . From the perspective of people within these networks, disconnected from

726-422: A "shallow" theorist observes an event and asks Cui bono ? ("Who benefits?"), jumping to the conclusion that a posited beneficiary is responsible for covertly influencing events. On the other hand, the "deep" conspiracy theorist begins with a hunch and then seeks out evidence. Rothbard describes this latter activity as a matter of confirming with certain facts one's initial paranoia. Belief in conspiracy theories

847-432: A "theory", but over time, "conspiracy" and "theory" have become decoupled, as modern conspiracism is often without any kind of theory behind it. Jesse Walker (2013) has identified five kinds of conspiracy theories: Michael Barkun has identified three classifications of conspiracy theory: Murray Rothbard argues in favor of a model that contrasts "deep" conspiracy theories to "shallow" ones. According to Rothbard,

968-401: A 2008 research study using undergraduate participants found that Caucasians reported higher levels of narcissism relative to Asians. Similarly, another 2008 study using undergraduate participants found that Caucasians tended to score slightly higher than non-Caucasians on Machiavellianism. When attempting to discern whether there are ethnic differences in psychopathy, researchers have addressed

1089-399: A black-and-white world in which good is struggling against evil. The general public is cast as the victim of organised persecution, and the motives of the alleged conspirators often verge on pure maniacal evil. At the very least, the conspirators are said to have an almost inhuman disregard for the basic liberty and well-being of the general population. More grandiose conspiracy theories portray

1210-532: A body of research that continues to grow in the published literature. Paulhus and Kevin Williams found enough behavioral, personality, and cognitive differences between the traits to suggest that they were distinct constructs; however, they concluded that further research was needed to elucidate how and why they overlap. While some psychologists argue that Machiavellianism seems to be indistinguishable from psychopathy and that scales of Machiavellianism seem to measure

1331-514: A consequence, the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proven or disproven. Studies have linked belief in conspiracy theories to distrust of authority and political cynicism . Some researchers suggest that conspiracist ideation —belief in conspiracy theories—may be psychologically harmful or pathological. Such belief is correlated with psychological projection , paranoia , and Machiavellianism . Psychologists usually attribute belief in conspiracy theories to

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1452-844: A cyber attack between each part of the dark triad. Psychopathy correlated with faster speeds of persistence and exploitation; narcissism correlated with faster privilege escalation, persistence, and extraction; and Machiavellianism correlated with stealth. Individuals with higher levels of psychopathy are more likely to engage in cyber bullying, with some correlation to both narcissism and Machiavellianism. Individuals with dark triad traits were also found to be more likely to commit acts of online fraud, with each trait having different impacts on factors. Machiavellianism has impacts on opportunity and motivation; psychopathy has impacts on rationalization; and narcissism has impacts on perceptions of motivation and capabilities. Dark triad characteristics correlate with support for various extremist ideologies. Support for

1573-501: A generalized dismissal. Conspiracy theory rhetoric exploits several important cognitive biases , including proportionality bias , attribution bias , and confirmation bias . Their arguments often take the form of asking reasonable questions, but without providing an answer based on strong evidence. Conspiracy theories are most successful when proponents can gather followers from the general public, such as in politics, religion and journalism. These proponents may not necessarily believe

1694-402: A lack of evidence for them. They are reinforced by circular reasoning : both evidence against the conspiracy and absence of evidence for it are misinterpreted as evidence of its truth. Stephan Lewandowsky observes "This interpretation relies on the notion that, the stronger the evidence against a conspiracy, the more the conspirators must want people to believe their version of events." As

1815-401: A means to an end. High scorers for faith in humanity are more likely to believe others are fundamentally good. When comparing individuals who take both dark triad and light triad tests, the average person was more likely to exhibit light triad traits. This test is not an inversion of dark triad tests, as Kaufman instead focused on developing characteristics that were conceptually opposite from

1936-446: A meta-analysis of dark triad and workplace outcomes, Jonason and colleagues (2012) found that each of the dark triad traits were related to manipulation in the workplace, but each via unique mechanisms. Specifically, Machiavellianism was related with the use of excessive charm in manipulation, narcissism was related with the use of physical appearance, and psychopathy was related with physical threats. Jonason and colleagues also found that

2057-480: A number of psychopathological conditions such as paranoia , schizotypy , narcissism , and insecure attachment , or to a form of cognitive bias called " illusory pattern perception ". It has also been linked with the so-called Dark triad personality types, whose common feature is lack of empathy . However, a 2020 review article found that most cognitive scientists view conspiracy theorizing as typically nonpathological, given that unfounded belief in conspiracy

2178-711: A number of similarities between anti-social and flame trolling activities, and the 2014 survey indicated that trolling is a manifestation of everyday sadism . Both studies suggest that this trolling may be linked to bullying in both adolescents and adults. A 2021 study found that the dark triad's influence may be mediated by malicious motives, and that there is no strong connection between having these traits and engaging in trolling. Adolescents who score higher in dark triad traits show higher amounts of violent delinquency, specifically with interpersonal violence. Individuals with low self control and dark triad traits showed more overall delinquency, however higher self control lowered

2299-424: A person might deal with these groups of individuals in practice have been suggested. The five factor model of personality has significant relationships with the dark triad combined and with each of the dark triad's traits. The dark triad overall is negatively related to both agreeableness and conscientiousness . More specifically, Machiavellianism captures a suspicious versus trusting view of human nature which

2420-458: A procedural objection to the report's creation. Specifically, it was claimed that part of the procedure reflected a conspiracy to silence dissenters, which served as motivation for opponents of the report and successfully redirected a significant amount of the public discussion away from the science. Historically, conspiracy theories have been closely linked to prejudice , witch hunts , wars , and genocides . They are often strongly believed by

2541-466: A psychological disposition toward group-based supremacy . Costello et al (2022) found that left - and right-wing authoritarianism correlate similarly with psychopathy. Psychologists have studied how dark triad traits affected individuals in their romantic relationships. In most cases these traits cause people to have shorter-term relationships. The people who tend to be higher in these traits will be in relationship types such as "one-night stand, which

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2662-416: A quiet ego, openness to experience, and conscientiousness . Additionally, those who score higher on the light triad scale are intellectually curious, secure in their attachments to others, and more tolerant to other perspectives. These individuals typically have less motives for achievement and self-enhancement (even though the light triad was positively related to productivity and competence). In contrast to

2783-404: A reduction in conspiracy beliefs. Other possible strategies to mitigate the effect of conspiracy theories include education, media literacy, and increasing governmental openness and transparency. Due to the relationship between conspiracy theories and political extremism, the academic literature on deradicalization is also important. One approach describes conspiracy theories as resulting from

2904-488: A result of a conspiracy between interested parties; spec. a belief that some covert but influential agency (typically political in motivation and oppressive in intent) is responsible for an unexplained event". It cites a 1909 article in The American Historical Review as the earliest usage example, although it also appeared in print for several decades before. The earliest known usage was by

3025-501: A sense of pleasure from acts of cruelty, concluding that sadism encompasses distinctly cruel traits not covered by the rest of the dark triad, therefore deserving of its position within the dark tetrad. The vulnerable dark triad comprises three related and similar constructs: vulnerable narcissism, secondary psychopathy, and borderline personality traits . A study found that these three constructs are significantly related to one another and manifest similar nomological networks. Although

3146-470: A similar manner to research on the Big Five personality traits , twin studies have been conducted in an effort to understand the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors in the development of dark triad traits. All three traits of the dark triad have been found to have substantial genetic components. It has also been found that the observed relationships between the three traits, and with

3267-648: A stigmatized mode of thought that separates them from the masses who believe the official account. Michael Barkun describes a conspiracy theory as a "template imposed upon the world to give the appearance of order to events". Real conspiracies, even very simple ones, are difficult to conceal and routinely experience unexpected problems. In contrast, conspiracy theories suggest that conspiracies are unrealistically successful and that groups of conspirators, such as bureaucracies , can act with near-perfect competence and secrecy. The causes of events or situations are simplified to exclude complex or interacting factors, as well as

3388-417: A study conducted in 2016 found that 10% of Americans think the chemtrail conspiracy theory is "completely true" and 20–30% think it is "somewhat true". This puts "the equivalent of 120 million Americans in the 'chemtrails are real' camp". Belief in conspiracy theories has therefore become a topic of interest for sociologists, psychologists and experts in folklore . Conspiracy theories are widely present on

3509-819: A substantial racial difference in psychopathy was found. Lynn proposes "that there are racial and ethnic differences in psychopathic personality conceptualised as a continuously distributed trait, such that high values of the trait are present in blacks and Native Americans, intermediate values in Hispanics, lower values in whites and the lowest values in East Asians." However this research has been heavily criticized for not distinguishing between psychopathy and other anti-social behaviors, confusing between personality and behavioral concepts of psychopathy and presuming rather than demonstrating genetic or evolutionary causes for supposed disparities. Based on analyses of responses to

3630-506: A tendency to steal or poach mates from others, more risk-taking in the form of substance abuse, a tendency to prefer immediate but smaller amounts of money over delayed but larger amounts of money, limited self-control and greater incidence of ADHD symptoms, and a pragmatic and game-playing romance style. These traits have been identified as part of a strategy that appears to be enacted by an exploitative, opportunistic , and protean approach to life in general and at work. The evidence

3751-468: Is a consistent association between changes in agreeableness and the dark triad traits over the course of an individual's life. In 1998, John McHoskey, William Worzel, and Christopher Szyarto provoked a controversy by claiming that narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are more or less interchangeable in normal samples. Delroy L. Paulhus and McHoskey debated these perspectives at a subsequent American Psychological Association conference, inspiring

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3872-485: Is also captured by the Trust sub-scale on the agreeableness trait. Extraversion captures similar aspects of assertiveness, dominance, and self-importance as narcissism. Narcissism also is positively related to the achievement striving and competence aspects of Conscientiousness. Psychopathy has the strongest correlations with low dutifulness and deliberation aspects of Conscientiousness. The honesty–humility factor from

3993-415: Is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable. The term generally has a negative connotation , implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is distinct from

4114-422: Is associated with biases in reasoning, such as the conjunction fallacy . Clare Birchall at King's College London describes conspiracy theory as a "form of popular knowledge or interpretation". The use of the word 'knowledge' here suggests ways in which conspiracy theory may be considered in relation to legitimate modes of knowing. The relationship between legitimate and illegitimate knowledge, Birchall claims,

4235-515: Is closer than common dismissals of conspiracy theory contend. Theories involving multiple conspirators that are proven to be correct, such as the Watergate scandal , are usually referred to as investigative journalism or historical analysis rather than conspiracy theory. Bjerg (2016) writes: "the way we normally use the term conspiracy theory excludes instances where the theory has been generally accepted as true. The Watergate scandal serves as

4356-418: Is common across both historical and contemporary cultures, and may arise from innate human tendencies towards gossip, group cohesion, and religion. One historical review of conspiracy theories concluded that "Evidence suggests that the aversive feelings that people experience when in crisis—fear, uncertainty, and the feeling of being out of control—stimulate a motivation to make sense of the situation, increasing

4477-459: Is correlated with antigovernmental orientations and a low sense of political efficacy, with conspiracy believers perceiving a governmental threat to individual rights and displaying a deep skepticism that who one votes for really matters. Conspiracy theories are often commonly believed, some even being held by the majority of the population. A broad cross-section of Americans today gives credence to at least some conspiracy theories. For instance,

4598-474: Is generally based not on evidence, but in the faith of the believer. Noam Chomsky contrasts conspiracy theory to institutional analysis which focuses mostly on the public, long-term behavior of publicly known institutions, as recorded in, for example, scholarly documents or mainstream media reports. Conspiracy theory conversely posits the existence of secretive coalitions of individuals and speculates on their alleged activities. Belief in conspiracy theories

4719-401: Is generally of low quality. For example, conspiracy theories are often dependent on eyewitness testimony , despite its unreliability, while disregarding objective analyses of the evidence. Conspiracy theories are not able to be falsified and are reinforced by fallacious arguments . In particular, the logical fallacy circular reasoning is used by conspiracy theorists: both evidence against

4840-432: Is mixed regarding the exact link between the dark triad and reproductive success. For example, there is a lack of empirical evidence for reproductive success in the case of psychopathy. Additionally, these traits are not universally short-term-oriented nor are they all impulsive. Furthermore, much of the research reported pertaining to the dark triad cited in the above paragraph is based on statistical procedures that assume

4961-836: Is much more difficult to convince people who already believe in conspiracy theories. Conspiracist belief systems are not based on external evidence, but instead use circular logic where every belief is supported by other conspiracist beliefs. In addition, conspiracy theories have a "self-sealing" nature, in which the types of arguments used to support them make them resistant to questioning from others. Characteristics of successful strategies for reaching conspiracy theorists have been divided into several broad categories: 1) Arguments can be presented by "trusted messengers", such as people who were formerly members of an extremist group. 2) Since conspiracy theorists think of themselves as people who value critical thinking, this can be affirmed and then redirected to encourage being more critical when analyzing

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5082-463: Is not referenced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . It has been treated as strictly a personality construct. Oliver James identifies each of the three dark triadic personality traits as typically being prevalent in the workplace . Furnham (2010) has identified that the dark triad is related to the acquisition of leadership positions and interpersonal influence. In

5203-489: Is not simply a conspiracy , which refers to any covert plan involving two or more people. In contrast, the term "conspiracy theory" refers to hypothesized conspiracies that have specific characteristics. For example, conspiracist beliefs invariably oppose the mainstream consensus among those people who are qualified to evaluate their accuracy, such as scientists or historians . Conspiracy theorists see themselves as having privileged access to socially persecuted knowledge or

5324-413: Is related to environmental factors that are shared with siblings. The results of a study among German adolescents reveal a positive association between the experience of parental rejection by both parents and punishment as well as parental control and overprotection and Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Some researchers have interpreted these findings to mean that, of the three, Machiavellianism

5445-417: Is termed a "fast life" strategy, while an emphasis on parenting is termed a "slow reproductive" strategy. There is some evidence that the dark triad traits are related to fast life history strategies; however, there have been some mixed results, and not all three dark triad traits have been related to this strategy. A more detailed approach has attempted to account for some of these mixed results by analyzing

5566-740: Is the trait most likely to be influenced by the environment. Evolutionary theory may also explain the development of dark triad traits. Despite the relationship of these traits with clinical disorders, some argue that adaptive qualities may accompany the maladaptive ones; their frequency in the gene pool requires at least some local adaptation. The everyday versions of these traits appear in student and community samples, where even high levels can be observed among individuals who manage to get along in daily life. Even in these samples, research indicates correlations with aggression , racism , and bullying among other forms of social aversiveness. It has been argued that evolutionary behavior predicts not only

5687-469: Is to challenge any action or statement from authorities, using even the most tenuous justifications. Responses are then assessed using a double standard, where failing to provide an immediate response to the satisfaction of the conspiracy theorist will be claimed to prove a conspiracy. Any minor errors in the response are heavily emphasized, while deficiencies in the arguments of other proponents are generally excused. In science, conspiracists may suggest that

5808-450: Is when you have sexual relations with the person only once""hookups", "booty calls, solicitation from a non-long-term relationship for the intent of sexual relations", and even " friends with benefits relationships . People who score high in dark triad traits tend to be less likely to have long-lasting relationships, and report lower relationship satisfaction. They are also more willing to terminate relationships than people who score lower on

5929-842: The Dirty Dozen and the Short Dark Triad (SD3). Most of these measures are questionnaire-style and either self-response or observer-response (e.g., ratings from supervisors or coworkers as measured by the Dark Informant-Rated Triad [DIRT] ). Both methods can prove problematic when attempting to measure any socially-aversive trait. Self-responders may be motivated to lie, and with observer responses—particularly for Machiavellianism—individuals who are skilled at deceiving and manipulating others should be perceived as low in deceptiveness and manipulation by others, resulting in inaccurate ratings. One study claimed that

6050-478: The HEXACO model of personality is used to measure sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty. Honesty–Humility has been found to be strongly negatively correlated to the dark triad traits. Likewise, all three dark triad traits are strongly negatively correlated with Honesty–Humility. The conceptual overlap of the three traits which represents a tendency to manipulate and exploit others for personal gain defines

6171-568: The Narcissistic Personality Inventory collected from over 16,000 U.S. undergraduate students between 1979 and 2006, it was concluded that average levels of narcissism had increased over time. Similar results were obtained in a follow-up study that analyzed the changes within each college campus. However, a 2017 study found little evidence of strong or widespread cohort-linked changes in disposition or behavioral strategies, although they did find some indications that

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6292-580: The Rothschild family , which may have led to effects on discussions about China's currency policy . Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , contributing to conspiracism emerging as a cultural phenomenon in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The general predisposition to believe conspiracy theories cuts across partisan and ideological lines. Conspiratorial thinking

6413-553: The Soviet Union , and Turkey . AIDS denialism by the government of South Africa , motivated by conspiracy theories, caused an estimated 330,000 deaths from AIDS. QAnon and denialism about the 2020 United States presidential election results led to the January 6 United States Capitol attack , and belief in conspiracy theories about genetically modified foods led the government of Zambia to reject food aid during

6534-569: The Teach the Controversy campaign to promote intelligent design , which often claims that there is a conspiracy of scientists suppressing their views. If they successfully find a platform to present their views in a debate format, they focus on using rhetorical ad hominems and attacking perceived flaws in the mainstream account, while avoiding any discussion of the shortcomings in their own position. The typical approach of conspiracy theories

6655-689: The University of Tübingen . Butter wrote in 2020 that the CIA document Concerning Criticism of the Warren Report , which proponents of the theory use as evidence of CIA motive and intention, does not contain the phrase "conspiracy theory" in the singular, and only uses the term "conspiracy theories" once, in the sentence: "Conspiracy theories have frequently thrown suspicion on our organisation [ sic ], for example, by falsely alleging that Lee Harvey Oswald worked for us." A conspiracy theory

6776-514: The Web in the form of blogs and YouTube videos, as well as on social media . Whether the Web has increased the prevalence of conspiracy theories or not is an open research question. The presence and representation of conspiracy theories in search engine results has been monitored and studied, showing significant variation across different topics, and a general absence of reputable, high-quality links in

6897-470: The alt-right , which was prolifically associated with online trolling and harassment, and politically correct authoritarianism both correlate with all three traits as well as measures of entitlement . To a lesser extent, support for a more liberal form of political correctness correlates negatively with psychopathy. Dark triad characteristics correlate positively with out-group threat perceptions, anti-immigrant prejudice, and social dominance orientation ,

7018-411: The antisemitic conspiracy theories found among political extremists on both the far right and far left . More generally, belief in conspiracy theories is associated with holding extreme and uncompromising viewpoints, and may help people in maintaining those viewpoints. While conspiracy theories are not always present in extremist groups, and do not always lead to violence when they are, they can make

7139-480: The dimensional model of narcissism and psychopathy, these traits are present at the subclinical level, meaning that they are present in the general population as opposed to clinical settings. People with subclinical traits can be identified using self-report assessments that are appropriate for the general population. In the general population, the prevalence rates for sub-clinical and clinical psychopathy are estimated at 1% and 0.2%, respectively. Machiavellianism

7260-745: The economy . Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , the Internet , and social media , emerging as a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. They are widespread around the world and are often commonly believed, some even held by the majority of the population. Interventions to reduce the occurrence of conspiracy beliefs include maintaining an open society , encouraging people to use analytical thinking , and reducing feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, or powerlessness. The Oxford English Dictionary defines conspiracy theory as "the theory that an event or phenomenon occurs as

7381-667: The American author Charles Astor Bristed , in a letter to the editor published in The New York Times on January 11, 1863. He used it to refer to claims that British aristocrats were intentionally weakening the United States during the American Civil War in order to advance their financial interests. England has had quite enough to do in Europe and Asia, without going out of her way to meddle with America. It

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7502-509: The Big Five personality factors, psychopathy has been found to correlate negatively with agreeableness and conscientiousness . Robert Hare revolutionized the study of psychopathy with his Psychopathy Checklist (PCL), and its revision (PCL-R). Hare noted that asking psychopaths to self-report on psychologically important matters does not necessarily provide accurate or unbiased data. However, efforts have been made to study psychopathy in

7623-522: The Big Five, are strongly driven by individual differences in genes. Within the triad, psychopathy and narcissism have both been found to be more inheritable than Machiavellianism. Environmental factors contribute to the development of dark triad traits, although they have less influence than genetics. During childhood and adolescence, environmental factors that are not shared with siblings (such as friends or extracurricular activities) contribute to all three dark triad traits. However, only Machiavellianism

7744-632: The Dirty Dozen gives mixed results on the construct validity of previous studies done on it. To show this, the study used a sample of over 3000 people and measured the convergent validity of the traits to other measures and questionnaires. They then used the Item Response Theory to analyze all of the results. This showed that there was an uneven distribution in the traits and that the scale was better at revealing Machiavellianism and psychopathy than narcissism. Despite these challenges and

7865-480: The Dirty Dozen measurement, found that the difference in scores between men and women are not caused by measurement errors. It also found that men scored much higher than women in Machiavellianism and psychopathy than in narcissism. There is far less information available on race differences in dark triad traits, and the data that is available is not representative of the population at-large. For instance,

7986-467: The English Press and public, which is most readily accounted for on the conspiracy theory . The term is also used as a way to discredit dissenting analyses. Robert Blaskiewicz comments that examples of the term were used as early as the nineteenth century and states that its usage has always been derogatory. According to a study by Andrew McKenzie-McHarg, in contrast, in the nineteenth century

8107-482: The Western world, with conspirators often alleged to enact their plans via sorcery or witchcraft; one common belief identifies modern technology as itself being a form of sorcery, created with the goal of harming or controlling the people. In China , one widely published conspiracy theory claims that a number of events including the rise of Hitler , the 1997 Asian financial crisis , and climate change were planned by

8228-491: The acknowledged commonalities among the dark triad traits, there is evidence that the three traits are distinct. Individuals who score high on narcissism display grandiosity, entitlement, dominance, and superiority. Narcissism has been found to correlate positively with extraversion and openness and negatively with agreeableness . Narcissism has also been found to have a significant correlation with psychopathy . Assessment of narcissism required clinical interviews until

8349-521: The average level of narcissism in women has increased more than the average level of narcissism in men. When looking at the Dirty Dozen measurement, one study found that men generally scored higher in narcissism and psychopathy than women, and that there was little variance between sex for Machiavellianism. One explanation was that the traditional gender roles in society contribute to these differences. A different study in 2017, using three separate samples of adults from northern Italy and an Italian version of

8470-425: The character strengths of the dark triad, the light triad was uncorrelated with bravery or assertiveness. Lack of such characteristics may be problematic for individuals attempting to reach more challenging goals and fully self-actualizing. The Atlas of Personality, Emotion and Behaviour is a catalogue of 2,400 words descriptive of personality, emotion and behaviour. The words in the catalogue were scored according to

8591-414: The conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proved or disproved. The epistemic strategy of conspiracy theories has been called "cascade logic": each time new evidence becomes available, a conspiracy theory is able to dismiss it by claiming that even more people must be part of

8712-521: The conspiracy theory is false, attempting to discredit the source, explaining how the logic is invalid or misleading, and providing links to fact-checking websites. It can also be effective to use these strategies in advance, informing people that they could encounter misleading information in the future, and why the information should be rejected (also called inoculation or prebunking). While it has been suggested that discussing conspiracy theories can raise their profile and make them seem more legitimate to

8833-562: The conspiracy theory. 3) Approaches demonstrate empathy, and are based on building understanding together, which is supported by modeling open-mindedness in order to encourage the conspiracy theorists to do likewise. 4) The conspiracy theories are not attacked with ridicule or aggressive deconstruction, and interactions are not treated like an argument to be won; this approach can work with the general public, but among conspiracy theorists it may simply be rejected. Interventions that reduce feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, or powerlessness result in

8954-458: The conspiracy theory; instead, they may just use it in an attempt to gain public approval. Conspiratorial claims can act as a successful rhetorical strategy to convince a portion of the public via appeal to emotion . Conspiracy theories typically justify themselves by focusing on gaps or ambiguities in knowledge, and then arguing that the true explanation for this must be a conspiracy . In contrast, any evidence that directly supports their claims

9075-510: The conspirators as being Evil Incarnate: of having caused all the ills from which we suffer, committing abominable acts of unthinkable cruelty on a routine basis, and striving ultimately to subvert or destroy everything we hold dear. A conspiracy theory may take any matter as its subject, but certain subjects attract greater interest than others. Favored subjects include famous deaths and assassinations, morally dubious government activities, suppressed technologies, and " false flag " terrorism. Among

9196-402: The cover-up. Any information that contradicts the conspiracy theory is suggested to be disinformation by the alleged conspiracy. Similarly, the continued lack of evidence directly supporting conspiracist claims is portrayed as confirming the existence of a conspiracy of silence; the fact that other people have not found or exposed any conspiracy is taken as evidence that those people are part of

9317-535: The current generation is more cynical and less trusting. An alternative perspective explored group differences in the dark triad and how they relate to positive emotion . Applying structural equation modeling and Latent Profile Analysis, a type of mixture model , to establish patterns in UK, US, and Canadian students, four groups were found: "unhappy but not narcissistic", "vulnerable narcissism", "happy non-narcissism" and "grandiose narcissism". Some extrapolations on how

9438-581: The dark triad is a single construct, in spite of genetic and meta-analytic evidence to the contrary. Several academic studies have found evidence that people with dark triad personalities are judged as slightly better-looking than average on first sight. Two studies have determined that this is because people with dark triad traits put more effort into their appearance, and the difference in attractiveness disappears when "dressed down" with bland clothing and without makeup. Two more studies found that only narcissistic subjects were judged to be better-looking, but

9559-455: The dark triad model note that many of the theoretical characteristics that is stated to separate Psychopathy, Machiavellianism and Narcissism from each other do not appear in empirical research. Machiavellianism in particular is stated to be distinguished from psychopathy in better impulse control and in the ability to form strategic long term plans, but Machiavellianism has also been correlated with reckless behavior in certain situations. Much of

9680-514: The dark triad traits fully mediated the relationship between gender and workplace manipulation. All three dark triad traits lead to knowledge sabotage. The dark triad traits have also been found to be fairly well-represented in upper-level management and CEOs. Recent studies have found that people who are identified as internet trolls tend to have dark personality traits and show signs of sadism , antisocial behavior , psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. The 2013 case study suggested that there are

9801-488: The dark triad. According to a study published in 2020, it is likely that men who embody the dark tetrad are well-represented among the clientele of prostitutes . However, the authors admit that "there is a dearth of research on the personality characteristics that typify men who buy sex from those who do not", while other researchers have claimed that there "is no evidence of a peculiar quality that differentiates customers in general from men who have not paid for sex." In

9922-827: The dark triad. Sadism shares common characteristics with psychopathy and antisocial behavior (lack of empathy, readiness for emotional involvement, inflicting suffering), although Reidy et al. (2011) showed that sadism distinctively predicted unprovoked aggression separate from psychopathy. Furthermore, sadism predicted delinquent behavior separately from the other dark triad traits when evaluating high school students. Harmful behavior against living creatures, brutal and destructive amoral dispositions, and criminal recidivism were additionally more prominently predicted by sadism than psychopathic traits. Studies on how sadists gain pleasure from cruelty to subjects were applied towards testing people who possessed dark triad traits. Results showed that only people exhibiting traits of sadism derived

10043-671: The dark triad. A reliable measure of the light triad traits was developed, and demonstrated that they are not simply the opposite of the dark triad's Big Five and HEXACO model traits. The light triad predicts positive and negative outcomes regarding Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility personality traits, and expands on understanding the dark triad as a useful contrasting analog. Individuals who score high on light triad traits also report higher levels of religiosity , spirituality , life satisfaction , acceptance of others, belief that they and others are good, compassion , empathy , self-esteem, authenticity, sense of self, positive enthusiasm, having

10164-408: The delinquency. Another study found that those who have admitted to stealing at some point in their life score higher on Machiavellianism and primary and secondary psychopathy. Those higher in psychopathy and Machiavellianism were shown to predict psychological abuse with intimate partner violence, however agreeableness was found to be the main factor. There is a clear distinction in the methods of

10285-490: The development of dark triad personalities, but also the flourishing of such personalities. Indeed, it has been found that individuals demonstrating dark triad personality can be highly successful in society. However, this success is typically short-lived. The main evolutionary argument behind the dark triad traits emphasizes mating strategies. This argument is based on life history theory , which proposes that individuals differ in reproductive strategies; an emphasis on mating

10406-638: The dimensional realm using self-reported instruments, as with the Levenson Primary and Secondary Psychopathy Scales, The Psychopathic Personality Inventory, and the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale. Other groupings of dark personality traits have been proposed. Several researchers have suggested that sadism should be considered a fourth dark trait. While sadism is highly correlated with the dark triad, researchers have shown that sadism predicts anti-social behavior beyond

10527-448: The effects of workplace rumors, which share some characteristics with conspiracy theories and result in both decreased productivity and increased stress. Subsequent effects on managers include reduced profits, reduced trust from employees, and damage to the company's image. Conspiracy theories can divert attention from important social, political, and scientific issues. In addition, they have been used to discredit scientific evidence to

10648-710: The general public or in a legal context. Conspiratorial strategies also share characteristics with those used by lawyers who are attempting to discredit expert testimony, such as claiming that the experts have ulterior motives in testifying, or attempting to find someone who will provide statements to imply that expert opinion is more divided than it actually is. It is possible that conspiracy theories may also produce some compensatory benefits to society in certain situations. For example, they may help people identify governmental deceptions, particularly in repressive societies, and encourage government transparency . However, real conspiracies are normally revealed by people working within

10769-709: The government of Zambia to reject food aid during a famine , at a time when 3 million people in the country were suffering from hunger . Conspiracy theories are a significant obstacle to improvements in public health . People who believe in health-related conspiracy theories are less likely to follow medical advice , and more likely to use alternative medicine instead. Conspiratorial anti-vaccination beliefs, such as conspiracy theories about pharmaceutical companies , can result in reduced vaccination rates and have been linked to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases . Health-related conspiracy theories often inspire resistance to water fluoridation , and contributed to

10890-506: The group more extreme, provide an enemy to direct hatred towards, and isolate members from the rest of society. Conspiracy theories are most likely to inspire violence when they call for urgent action, appeal to prejudices, or demonize and scapegoat enemies. Conspiracy theorizing in the workplace can also have economic consequences. For example, it leads to lower job satisfaction and lower commitment, resulting in workers being more likely to leave their jobs. Comparisons have also been made with

11011-480: The impact of the Lancet MMR autism fraud . Conspiracy theories are a fundamental component of a wide range of radicalized and extremist groups, where they may play an important role in reinforcing the ideology and psychology of their members as well as further radicalizing their beliefs. These conspiracy theories often share common themes, even among groups that would otherwise be fundamentally opposed, such as

11132-489: The information available to the rest of society, believing in conspiracy theories may appear to be justified. In these cases, the solution would be to break the group's informational isolation. Public exposure to conspiracy theories can be reduced by interventions that reduce their ability to spread, such as by encouraging people to reflect before sharing a news story. Researchers Carlos Diaz Ruiz and Tomas Nilsson have proposed technical and rhetorical interventions to counter

11253-537: The issue using different measurement instruments (e.g., the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale and The Psychopathic Personality Inventory), but no race differences have been found regardless of the measure used. Additionally, when comparing Caucasians and African Americans from correctional, substance abuse, and psychiatric samples—groups with typically high prevalence rates of psychopathy—researchers again failed to find any meaningful group differences in psychopathy. However, in controversial research conducted by Richard Lynn ,

11374-548: The key for life success, and behave accordingly. Individuals who are measured to have a high level of Machiavellianism tend to have low agreeableness and conscientiousness . The original published version of the MACH-IV is the most widely used measure in empirical research. Psychopathy is considered the most malevolent of the dark triad. Individuals who score high on psychopathy show low levels of empathy and high levels of impulsivity and thrill-seeking. With respect to

11495-402: The likelihood of perceiving conspiracies in social situations." Historically, conspiracy theories have been closely linked to prejudice , propaganda , witch hunts , wars , and genocides . They are often strongly believed by the perpetrators of terrorist attacks , and were used as justification by Timothy McVeigh and Anders Breivik , as well as by governments such as Nazi Germany ,

11616-475: The longest-standing and most widely recognized conspiracy theories are notions concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy , the 1969 Apollo Moon landings , and the 9/11 terrorist attacks , as well as numerous theories pertaining to alleged plots for world domination by various groups, both real and imaginary. Conspiracy beliefs are widespread around the world. In rural Africa, common targets of conspiracy theorizing include societal elites, enemy tribes, and

11737-495: The measurement instruments, and the age of the participants. One interesting finding related to narcissism—albeit one based on non-representative samples—is that while men continue to score higher than women, it seems that the gender gap has shrunk considerably when comparing cohort data from 1992 and 2006. More specifically, the aforementioned findings indicate that there has been a general increase in levels of narcissism over time among college students of both sexes, but comparatively,

11858-429: The nearly exact same correlations between the Big Five personality traits, which led one research team to conclude that the results of the study supported McHoskey's claim that Machiavellianism ‘‘is a global measure of Psychopathy in non-institutionalized populations.’’ Even a recent study from 2016 notes that Machiavellianism seems to be indistinguishable from psychopathy and that scales of Machiavellianism seem to measure

11979-696: The negative pole of the honesty–humility factor. Typically, any positive effects from the Dark Triad and low Honesty–Humility occur at the individual level, that is, any benefits are conferred onto the one with the traits (e.g., successful mating, obtainment of leadership positions) and not onto others or society at large. Influenced by the dark triad, Scott Barry Kaufman proposed a light triad of personality traits: humanism , Kantianism , and faith in humanity. High scorers on humanism are more likely to value others' dignity and self worth. High scorers on Kantianism are more likely to see others as people, not as

12100-429: The other dark triad traits of Machiavellianism and psychopathy had no correlation with looks. Facial features associated with dark triad traits tend to be rated as less attractive. The most pronounced group difference is in gender: numerous studies have shown that men tend to score higher than women on narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, although the magnitude of the difference varies across traits,

12221-419: The perpetrators of terrorist attacks, and were used as justification by Timothy McVeigh , Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant , as well as by governments such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . AIDS denialism by the government of South Africa , motivated by conspiracy theories, caused an estimated 330,000 deaths from AIDS, while belief in conspiracy theories about genetically modified foods led

12342-512: The plot, rather than considering that it may be because no conspiracy exists. This strategy lets conspiracy theories insulate themselves from neutral analyses of the evidence, and makes them resistant to questioning or correction, which is called "epistemic self-insulation". Conspiracy theorists often take advantage of false balance in the media. They may claim to be presenting a legitimate alternative viewpoint that deserves equal time to argue its case; for example, this strategy has been used by

12463-680: The popular Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was created by Raskin and Hall in 1979. Since the NPI, several other measures have emerged which attempt to provide self-report alternatives for personality disorder assessment. In addition, new instruments have been developed to study pathological narcissism as opposed to grandiose narcissism, which is what many argue the NPI measures. People who score high on this trait, conceptualized in 1970 by psychologists Richard Christie and Florence Geis, are callous, unprincipled, and are excessively motivated by self-interest. They view interpersonal manipulation as

12584-565: The psychopathy construct, there is enough evidence to suggest that they are two separate traits, as Paulhus notes that psychopaths are impulsive and careless, which is opposed to the behavior of High Machs who are calculating and plan for the long term. The dark triad traits have significant theoretical and empirical overlap. All three traits share characteristics such as a lack of empathy, interpersonal hostility, and interpersonal offensiveness. A number of measures have been developed to measure all three dark triad traits simultaneously, such as

12705-427: The psychopathy construct. Because of these issues, researchers have proposed that the dark triad traits be merged into one singular construct. Narcissism has also been viewed as interchangeable with Machiavellianism. Psychopathy and narcissism both have their clinical counterparts recognized by psychiatrists, known as narcissistic personality disorder (or NPD) and antisocial personality disorder (or ASPD). Given

12826-532: The public, the discussion can put people on guard instead as long as it is sufficiently persuasive. Other approaches to reduce the appeal of conspiracy theories in general among the public may be based in the emotional and social nature of conspiratorial beliefs. For example, interventions that promote analytical thinking in the general public are likely to be effective. Another approach is to intervene in ways that decrease negative emotions , and specifically to improve feelings of personal hope and empowerment. It

12947-726: The results. One conspiracy theory that propagated through former US President Barack Obama's time in office claimed that he was born in Kenya, instead of Hawaii where he was actually born . Former governor of Arkansas and political opponent of Obama Mike Huckabee made headlines in 2011 when he, among other members of Republican leadership, continued to question Obama's citizenship status. A conspiracy theory can be local or international, focused on single events or covering multiple incidents and entire countries, regions and periods of history. According to Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum , historically, traditional conspiracism has entailed

13068-571: The role of chance and unintended consequences. Nearly all observations are explained as having been deliberately planned by the alleged conspirators. In conspiracy theories, the conspirators are usually claimed to be acting with extreme malice. As described by Robert Brotherton: The malevolent intent assumed by most conspiracy theories goes far beyond everyday plots borne out of self-interest, corruption, cruelty, and criminality. The postulated conspirators are not merely people with selfish agendas or differing values. Rather, conspiracy theories postulate

13189-413: The same traits are also associated with some positive outcomes, such as mental toughness and being more likely to embrace challenges. A factor analysis found that among the big five personality traits , low agreeableness is the strongest correlate of the dark triad, while neuroticism and a lack of conscientiousness were associated with some of the dark triad members. Research indicates that there

13310-644: The spread of conspiracy theories on social media. Dark triad All three dark triad traits are conceptually distinct although empirical evidence shows them to be overlapping. They are associated with a callous–manipulative interpersonal style. High scores in these traits have been found to statistically increase a person's likelihood to commit crimes, cause social distress, and create severe problems for organizations, especially if they are in leadership positions. They also tend to be less compassionate, agreeable, empathetic, and satisfied with their lives, and less likely to believe they and others are good. However,

13431-436: The standard reference." By contrast, the term "Watergate conspiracy theory" is used to refer to a variety of hypotheses in which those convicted in the conspiracy were in fact the victims of a deeper conspiracy. There are also attempts to analyze the theory of conspiracy theories (conspiracy theory theory) to ensure that the term "conspiracy theory" is used to refer to narratives that have been debunked by experts, rather than as

13552-412: The system, such as whistleblowers and journalists , and most of the effort spent by conspiracy theorists is inherently misdirected. The most dangerous conspiracy theories are likely to be those that incite violence, scapegoat disadvantaged groups, or spread misinformation about important societal issues. Strategies to address conspiracy theories have been divided into two categories based on whether

13673-856: The target audience is the conspiracy theorists or the general public. These strategies have been described as reducing either the supply or the demand for conspiracy theories. Both approaches can be used at the same time, although there may be issues of limited resources, or if arguments are used which may appeal to one audience at the expense of the other. People who feel empowered are more resistant to conspiracy theories. Methods to promote empowerment include encouraging people to use analytical thinking , priming people to think of situations where they are in control, and ensuring that decisions by society and government are seen to follow procedural fairness (the use of fair decision-making procedures). Methods of refutation which have shown effectiveness in various circumstances include: providing facts that demonstrate

13794-462: The term conspiracy theory simply "suggests a plausible postulate of a conspiracy" and "did not, at this stage, carry any connotations, either negative or positive", though sometimes a postulate so-labeled was criticized. The author and activist George Monbiot argued that the terms "conspiracy theory" and "conspiracy theorist" are misleading, as conspiracies truly exist and theories are "rational explanations subject to disproof". Instead, he proposed

13915-484: The term entered everyday language in the United States after 1964, the year in which the Warren Commission published its findings on the assassination of John F. Kennedy , with The New York Times running five stories that year using the term. Whether the CIA was responsible for popularising the term "conspiracy theory" was analyzed by Michael Butter, a Professor of American Literary and Cultural History at

14036-601: The terms "conspiracy fiction" and "conspiracy fantasist". The term "conspiracy theory" is itself the subject of a conspiracy theory, which posits that the term was popularized by the CIA in order to discredit conspiratorial believers, particularly critics of the Warren Commission , by making them a target of ridicule. In his 2013 book Conspiracy Theory in America , the political scientist Lance deHaven-Smith wrote that

14157-471: The title Truther . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Truther&oldid=1175074227 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory

14278-464: The traits at a finer level of detail. These researchers found that while some components of the dark triad are related to a fast life strategy, other components are related to slow reproductive strategies. Studies have suggested that, on average, those who exhibit the dark triad of personality traits have an accelerated mating strategy , reporting more sex partners, more favorable attitudes towards casual sex, lowered standards in their short-term mates,

14399-835: The traits within measures of psychopathy already include Machiavellianism and narcissism. For example, Machiavellianism is featured in most of the Factor 1 traits in the PCL-R, in the "Interpersonal Manipulation" factor within the Hare’s Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III, and in the "Manipulation" scale in the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment. Narcissism is featured within the Psychopathy Checklist as "Grandiose sense of self worth". Machiavellianism and psychopathy also share

14520-527: The vulnerable dark triad members are related to negative emotionality and antagonistic interpersonal styles, they are also related to introversion and disinhibition . According to both research and theory, persons who are highly affected by the Dark Triad are influenced by external, controllable factors. On the contrary, those who are high in the Vulnerable Dark Triad (VDT) are driven by internal, embedded desires. Researchers who criticize

14641-403: Was a physical and moral impossibility that she could be carrying on a gigantic conspiracy against us. But our masses, having only a rough general knowledge of foreign affairs, and not unnaturally somewhat exaggerating the space which we occupy in the world's eye, do not appreciate the complications which rendered such a conspiracy impossible. They only look at the sudden right-about-face movement of

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