Conspiracy Theory Phobia

Abstract

Many scholars and journalists have recently questioned why people believe in conspiracy theories. Perhaps equal consideration should be given to the opposing question, why do people not believe in conspiracy theories. People who refuse to evaluate conspiracy theories evenly and openly may suffer from conspiracy theory phobia. This phobia manifests when a person rejects conspiracy theories out of hand without an appropriate evaluation of the available evidence, or if her reaction toward conspiracy theories is one of mockery, contempt, or hostility. Conspiracy theory phobia is likely explained by non-rational psychological mechanisms. In this chapter, we show how confirmation bias and pragmatic hypothesis testing can drive the rejection of conspiracy theories. Arguably, conspiracy theory phobia can distort social science and undermine political accountability within functional democracies.