speech

Topic: Conspiracy theories and why do people believe them?

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about conspiracy theories and their influential nature as well as how people become susceptible to these theories in both the psychological sense as well as previous historical examples and the outcome of these theories.

Central Idea: The central idea is to define a conspiracy theory as well as find out why there is a certain group of people that seem to gravitate towards the theories the others may find crazy. There are many other factors, such as past historical incidents, the psychological effect of following a theory, and the outcomes when the conspiracy theories come to full conclusion.

Attention-getter: In a December 2023 YouGov survey, Taylor Orth reports that “most Americans—41 percent—believe a broader theory: that regardless of who is officially in charge of the government and other organizations, there is a single group of people who secretly control events and rule the world together.” (Orth, 2023).

Audience relevance: conspiracy theories Although they seem mundane in nature, they shape public opinion and behavior by letting us know how uncertain people are about our current social landscape, and they can influence our trust in institutions and how we interact with current events.

Credibility material: As I follow current events and i was a past student of psychology, this subject has fascinated me, and I’ve done my research by exploring academic journals that have done extensive research on the topic, such as Current Directions in Psychological Science and Memory Studies, to better understand how and why a conspiracy theory spreads as well as why so many fall into this category.

Preview of speech: Today, I’m discussing the three key aspects of how a theory manifests and has manifested in the past, going through the history of conspiracy theories, the belief in said conspiracy theories, and their impact and consequences on society.

  1. History of conspiracy theories

  2. JFK Assassination A pivotal event in modern conspiracy history, with a number of theories on who was involved and if it was more than one person.

  3. “The feature of conspiracy theories that they summarize complex events into a simplified story—typically involving a powerful enemy group (i.e., the conspiracy) that deliberately organizes and carries out an evil plan—makes such theories ideally suited for cultural transmission as they are easily understood by laypeople” (van Prooijen & Douglas, 2017).

  4. The evolution of conspiracy theories with the rise of print media, radio, and the internet.

Transition link: We have explored past examples of history as well as the evolution of conspiracy theories, let’s talk about how the theories manifest in the brain and why they are so appealing to follow.

  1. Psychological Reasons for Belief in Conspiracy Theories.

  2. "Conspiracy theories fulfill psychological needs for certainty, control, and social belonging. They provide individuals with clear, albeit often misguided, answers to ambiguous events, helping to reduce feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness" (Douglas, Sutton, & Cichocka, 2017).

  3. Epistemic motives are, in other words, people's belief in conspiracy rhetoric because it provides simple and clear explanations for events that are complicated and often hard to comprehend. Theories satisfy the need for knowledge and answers in a world that doesn’t give answers all the time. An uncertain world leads people to fall down these rabbit holes of dangerous rhetoric.

  4. Existential Motives: This is the motive that the theory attaches to the most: the fact that many people who follow these wild theories feel out of control, and this allows them to feel more in control, especially when they are faced with a chaotic or unpredictable event. This in turn leads them to believe they know more than what other people do, and this belief gives them a sense of power and security.

  5. Social motives: this motive fulfills the need for a group mentality that many of these followers believe is more of a us vs. them and gives followers of any certain ideology a community that shares the same or similar views, and it results in more group cohesion, so many people seek out these communities and these outrageous theories for the need to fit in.

Transition link: while the psychological effect is clear and present and describe many of the behaviors and why people are drawn to believe these theories, we have to talk about the results and the consequences of these conspiracy theories that impact society and individuals.

  1. Consequences of Belief in Conspiracy Theories

  2. influence on health behaviors resulting in misinformation and fear that lead people to reject evidence-based science that has been well tested. An example of this would be people denying vaccines and medical treatment based on these theories that could help them instead they might deny these measures and will result in harm to the person.

  3. Radicalization and extremism Many of the theories are harmless and are just crazy speculation, but often these theories involve dangerous rhetoric that includes violent radicalization and may encourage people to do dangerous acts such as political violence to further their goals and beliefs.

  4. “Experiments have demonstrated that conspiracy beliefs decrease normative action (such as voting and legal demonstrations) but increase non-normative behaviors (such as refusal to pay taxes and committing violence against a person in power). Similar findings from a two-wave panel across five democracies have showcased how conspiracy beliefs are linked with reduced intention to vote in an election" (Jolley, Marques, & Cookson, 2022).

Summary statement: In conclusion, conspiracy theories are dangerous and lead to social distrust and harmful actions that have been demonstrated in the past. They have psychological effects on those involved and result in consequences for society and individuals alike. The more we understand the effects, the more we can curb behavior that promotes these dangerous actions and stop the rise of more misinformation spreading.

Audience response: seeing the impact of the conspiracy theories that spread daily around the globe, think if these theories are just harmless stories or do, they lead to real-world consequences? It is our choice to decide how much power we give to these ideas and theories.

WOW statement: as a famous philosopher Socrates once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” (Socrates) It demonstrates the pitfall of believing you know the full truth when there is much to learn.