Are conspiracy theorists sociopaths?

Irwin

Irwin

Well-known Member
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Social "scientists" studied the connection between narcissism, sociopathy, and belief in conspiracy theories...

A study published in PLOS One found that odd beliefs/magical thinking, primary psychopathy, and trait Machiavellianism were each associated with a greater likelihood of believing in conspiracy theories.​
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Conspiracy theories are beliefs involving alternative explanations for a circumstance or event, often supposing a covert and powerful organization is responsible for orchestrating a secret plot. Research has shown that individuals who hold these beliefs may be at risk for detrimental social and health outcomes, and reduced prosocial behavior.​
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Study authors Evita March and Jordan Springer set out to explore trait psychopathy as a possible predictor for belief in conspiracy theories. They say, “characteristics of trait psychopathy such as the tendency to be exploitative, manipulative, have a grandiose sense of self-importance, and social dominance orientation, have all previously been associated with belief in conspiracy theories.”​
 

Of the people I know who are conspiracy theorists, none are sociopaths, based on knowing them and the traits of sociopathy. One of them, I think, is very lonely and entertains himself with these theories, and believes them for reasons unknown. He is definitely not a sociopath.

I have only met one sociopath, that I know of, and she was my mother's best friend for 50 years. My mother diagnosed her, and she was probably correct. Very likeable person. I played bridge with her a few times about 5 years ago. She has been de-fanged due to her serious medical conditions and maybe old age.

I think it is easier to believe in conspiracy theories when one is lonely and basically doesn't talk to other people in real life, just on the internet. Also, when one assumes that what they see is the truth about people they "meet" online. Say that one says he is a retired general -- suddenly his ideas have more authority, even though he is really a teenager pretending to be what he is not. Or one believes that videos have not been edited to show something that is patently untrue.

I think it is really important, for me at least, not to live in my head. I interact, though only on the phone, with my friends, and I run my decisions by them just for another point of view. The trouble with living in my head, and never consulting anyone about anything, is that I always agree with myself and sometimes I'm wrong!
 
WheatenLover said:
Of the people I know who are conspiracy theorists, none are sociopaths, based on knowing them and the traits of sociopathy. One of them, I think, is very lonely and entertains himself with these theories, and believes them for reasons unknown. He is definitely not a sociopath.

I have only met one sociopath, that I know of, and she was my mother's best friend for 50 years. My mother diagnosed her, and she was probably correct. Very likeable person. I played bridge with her a few times about 5 years ago. She has been de-fanged due to her serious medical conditions and maybe old age.

I think it is easier to believe in conspiracy theories when one is lonely and basically doesn't talk to other people in real life, just on the internet. Also, when one assumes that what they see is the truth about people they "meet" online. Say that one says he is a retired general -- suddenly his ideas have more authority, even though he is really a teenager pretending to be what he is not. Or one believes that videos have not been edited to show something that is patently untrue.

I think it is really important, for me at least, not to live in my head. I interact, though only on the phone, with my friends, and I run my decisions by them just for another point of view. The trouble with living in my head, and never consulting anyone about anything, is that I always agree with myself and sometimes I'm wrong!
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That's what I thought about conspiracy theorists and cult members... They're lonely and feel like they don't fit in anywhere, and when they adapt these wacko beliefs, they find a connection with like minded people out there. I think that's the case with a lot of extremists, such as the fanatics who shoot up abortion clinics. But when I think about some of the extremists that I've actually known, they're not the shy, insecure types... They're arrogant, belligerent, and probably sociopathic.
 
I think saying conspiracy theorists are sociopaths is way over the line. This study is a "tends to be" study. I do believe conspiracy theorists tend to have similar traits, and ways of thinking. I guess their brains are wired for "conspiracy mode". I've always been amazed at the 10-15%- that's always the bunch, who won't go along with the rest of the 85-90%. We all don't have the exact same values, or ways of thinking. It's way more than cultural differences, it's how we're wired.
 
While some conspiracy theorists may also be sociopaths, I think most of them are just seen as obnoxious twits. I looked at several studies, and there seems to be a few observable common traits of conspiracy theorists.
- They believe in multiple conspiracies, often some of which are mutually contradictory.
- They believe they are smarter than other people, even though in fact they generally are less intelligent. (YMMV) This is now called the Dunning Krueger effect, and was predicted over 2,000 years ago by Aesop, who said "The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit"
- They are socially maladjusted.

On the other hand, here's what WebMD says about sociopaths:
Signs of a Sociopath
 
Buckeye said:
I think most of them are just seen as obnoxious twits.
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I have to disagree with this one. My longest (since the age of 5) and in some ways best friend believes in conspiracy theories, as does my brother. I don't think either are twits, though both can border on the obnoxious. Probably no clinical definition of twit, so just my opinion.
Buckeye said:
They believe in multiple conspiracies, often some of which are mutually contradictory.
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Yep, confusing to me!
Buckeye said:
They believe they are smarter than other people, even though in fact they generally are less intelligent.
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Both of my examples believe this, however I believe they are both right, both are quite intelligent. In the case of my friend he is brilliant, in some ways the smartest person I know.
Buckeye said:
They are socially maladjusted.
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Not in my examples. My brother is more popular and outgoing than I, he has lots of friends.

My friend is a bit different he is also outgoing and has many friends. I believe he does the conspiracy theory thing in part to be different. He is quite eccentric and likes to be seen as such. I am not really sure he believes some of the theories at heart, he has kind of admitted this to me. He does however enjoy twisting people's tails and getting reactions. For example he flies a very large Trump flag and will forcefully argue (in public anyway) that the election was fixed. But when talking with me one on one he admits that he does it just to see people's reaction, he doesn't really believe everything he says. And he would support any reasonable Republican against Trump. Sometimes I think some of the anti-vaxers here may fit that mold, enjoying twisting of tails that is not politically. Hope this isn't too political for SF, tried to keep my opinions out of it.

The Signs of a Sociopath article was good, learned a bit from it. I suppose I am one who confuses sociopaths with psychopaths. Looks like sociopaths are probably more common that I thought.
 
Buckeye said:
While some conspiracy theorists may also be sociopaths, I think most of them are just seen as obnoxious twits. I looked at several studies, and there seems to be a few observable common traits of conspiracy theorists.
- They believe in multiple conspiracies, often some of which are mutually contradictory.
- They believe they are smarter than other people, even though in fact they generally are less intelligent. (YMMV) This is now called the Dunning Krueger effect, and was predicted over 2,000 years ago by Aesop, who said "The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit"
- They are socially maladjusted.

On the other hand, here's what WebMD says about sociopaths:
Signs of a Sociopath
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Being obnoxious and believing they're smarter than other people signal a lack of empathy for others and are probably indicators of sociopathy, but not necessarily. That could just be part of a mob mentality where they're emboldened by their numbers. They feel strong around likeminded people but perhaps insecure on their own. I'm just speculating, though. The fact that a lot of conspiracy theorists are willing to be arrested and even go to prison for their beliefs implies an underdeveloped sense of consequence or a huge ego, which may be a sign of sociopathy.

On the other side of the spectrum are the socially maladjusted who attend conspiracy themed events but maintain a low profile. Even with likeminded people, they're still on the outside looking in. From what I've read, they can be dangerous because they fit the profile of your typical abortion clinic shooter who has failed relationships, perhaps has just lost their job, and basically has nothing left to lose, so they're looking for a sense of empowerment in perhaps one final action where they may lose their freedom or even their life, but just want to go out with a bang, so to speak. They've failed at everything else, but this is one case where they can succeed because they're armed and the people they're going up against aren't. They can't help but win. But they're probably not sociopaths; they're just losers.
 
Some sociopaths are highly successful men and women in our society, so I would not put conspiracy theorists in the same category. People who soak up bizarre theories are usually maladjusted, do not fit into society, very few friends (if any) are not very coherent etc. So when they notice a “cult” leader wherever that cult may be, they latch onto that “theory” hoping to be accepted into a group. But those groups do not last very long and soon the conspiracy theorists come crashing back to earth and end up in a worst physical and mental state than they were previously.
 
Not every conspiracy theory ever uttered is something to scoff at. In fact, many of them have turned out to be completely true.
Here's a list of several "nasty rumors" started by a bunch of loons:
The US gov't did indeed poison alcohol during prohibition.
In the 1950s, the Canadian gov't hired a university professor to develop a machine that supposedly could detect whether or not federal employees were gay.
The US gov't did indeed use body parts of dead infants and children to test radioactivity.
US gov't (the CIA) tested LSD on thousands of individuals without their knowledge. The objective" mind control.
The world was proven round.
The Gulf of Tonkin attack never happened.
The US gov't was indeed seriously investigating UFOs from 2008 to 2011 (so they're saying).


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I have a hard time bunching a group of people under one heading. There are just to many variables involved when dealing with a large group. I would guess that there are some conspiracy theorists who are sociopaths just like you might find in any group of people. Politicians for example. I wonder myself some times about all the things that have happened in quick succession in the past few years. It seems to me that we are being pushed by someone towards something. I do not consider myself a sociopath. Of course if I was one I probably would not realize it. I live my life a day at a time. I prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

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