ABSTRACT
This chapter provides insights to understand conspiracy theories as a common societal phenomenon. One of the main mistakes that one can make in explaining conspiracy beliefs is to dismiss them as pathological. The chapter concludes that conspiracy theories emerge from regular and predictable psychological responses to feelings of uncertainty and fear. It illustrates a few suggestions as to what policy makers can do to reduce conspiracy theories among the population. Negative emotions – particularly feelings of fear and uncertainty – form a key causal factor to explain why conspiracy theories are prevalent among large segments of the population. These suspicious feelings can be dissected in a range of more specific psychological processes that characterize conspiracy theories and that can be summarized in terms of three complementary insights. Reducing conspiracy theories does not mean ignoring actual corruption; it means improving people's capacity to recognize when conspiratorial allegations are implausible.
