ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about the psychology of conspiracy theories. Despite all the differences among the conspiracy theories that people endorse, in the present book the author argues that people's tendency to believe in conspiracy theories is rooted in similar, recognizable, and predictable psychological processes. It focuses on the psychology of conspiracy theories, which is the scientific study of why some people are more likely than others to believe in conspiracy theories. Psychology offers a scientific approach that helps to objectively establish what personality or situational factors determine belief or dis-belief in conspiracy theories. The book also illuminates that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with a preference for relatively extreme political currents: radical socialist parties at the left end of the political spectrum and anti-immigration parties at the right end of the political spectrum.
