<p>In my opinion the main reason of conspiracy theory is lack of information. As in rumors.
In this wikipedia page you can find a lot of research on rumors:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumor" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumor</a>. When people dont have enough information they tend to confabulate because of Gestalt princioles.</p>

<p>But also there is quality of conspiracy theory and amount of truth, not all conspiraci theories are bogus.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-24T12:34:32.187Z
2013-08-19T17:02:51.120Z
2013-08-19T17:02:51.120Z
ICanFeelIt
<p>If you are looking for an insight into the mind of a conspiracy theorist, there was a very long "suicide note" printed by some guy who successfully committed suicide.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_longest_suicide_note_in_history" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia says this is the longest note, but it does not seem like the right one</a> I cannot find it now, but remember that it was about 1000 pages long. </p>

<p>naturally, I cannot read a 1000 pages, so I wrote a perl script that pulled the most used words within that note. Most of these were very negative, but what struck me as odd is that many world war 2 related terms were up there, like nazis, Jews, etc. <strong>I got a feeling that his mind was going in circles around those topics and could not escape.</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-24T01:41:33.820Z
2013-07-24T01:41:33.820Z
Alex Stone
<p>Conspiracy Theorists, in <em>my</em> opinion, are people I don't like except for some exceptions. However, this question will not be answered with my irrelevant opinions on said people..</p>

<p>Now, here is the question:</p>

<ul>
<li>Why do conspiracy theorists become conspiracy theorists?</li>
<li>Why do they get the ideas that they do?</li>
<li>Are they looking for attention?</li>
<li>What are the mechanics behind their minds/thought process?</li>
</ul>

<p>Some conspiracies:</p>

<ul>
<li>"Tupac is still  alive, he will come back in year 20(12,13,14)"</li>
<li>"The New World Order is going to take over the world."</li>
</ul>

<p>Do these people warp things like the Illuminati into a conspiracy? What is behind the minds of these people? Is there any prevalence of mental (conditions, disease) among them? Is there any different type of parenting or environment they are raised in?</p>

<p>All of these questions don't need to be answered, but those are the questions running through my mind.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-23T21:01:15.663Z
Tupac *is* still alive.
Chuck Sherrington
<experimental-psychology><abnormal-psychology><psychiatry>
What are the mechanics behind the mind of a conspiracy theorist?
CoonKitteh
# What are the mechanics behind the mind of a conspiracy theorist?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-07-23)

Conspiracy Theorists, in *my* opinion, are people I don't like except for some exceptions. However, this question will not be answered with my irrelevant opinions on said people..

Now, here is the question:

* Why do conspiracy theorists become conspiracy theorists?
* Why do they get the ideas that they do?
* Are they looking for attention?
* What are the mechanics behind their minds/thought process?

Some conspiracies:

* "Tupac is still alive, he will come back in year 20(12,13,14)"
* "The New World Order is going to take over the world."

Do these people warp things like the Illuminati into a conspiracy? What is behind the minds of these people? Is there any prevalence of mental (conditions, disease) among them? Is there any different type of parenting or environment they are raised in?

All of these questions don't need to be answered, but those are the questions running through my mind.

**Tags:** experimental-psychology, abnormal-psychology, psychiatry

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Tupac *is* still alive.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-07-24. Score: 0

In my opinion the main reason of conspiracy theory is lack of information. As in rumors.
In this wikipedia page you can find a lot of research on rumors:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumor>. When people dont have enough information they tend to confabulate because of Gestalt princioles.

But also there is quality of conspiracy theory and amount of truth, not all conspiraci theories are bogus.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2013-07-24. Score: -3

If you are looking for an insight into the mind of a conspiracy theorist, there was a very long "suicide note" printed by some guy who successfully committed suicide.[Wikipedia says this is the longest note, but it does not seem like the right one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_longest_suicide_note_in_history) I cannot find it now, but remember that it was about 1000 pages long.

naturally, I cannot read a 1000 pages, so I wrote a perl script that pulled the most used words within that note. Most of these were very negative, but what struck me as odd is that many world war 2 related terms were up there, like nazis, Jews, etc. **I got a feeling that his mind was going in circles around those topics and could not escape.**


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