kout - The Sociable

Business

7 Lessons to pitch your startup like Donald Trump would

Guest Contributor5 years ago

1.65K

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Donald Trump is doing a rather great job at rallying (a...

Gaming

How ‘gamification’ can drive mainstream engagement across industries

Guest Contributor5 years ago

1.52K

Samuel Huber is the co-founder and CEO of Kout, one of the first companies aiming to bridge the gap between...

Brains Byte Back

The weekly podcast looking at how our brains, psychology, and society are impacted by the ever-evolving technology that surrounds us. Every Monday we bring you the best stories and guests from around the world relating to technology, psychology, and society.

According to a poll taken earlier this year, 1 in 8 Australians believe that Bill Gates and 5G are responsible for COVID-19. While this might sound ludicrous to 7 out of 8 of us, conspiracy theories can have a genuine impact in the real world. For example, according to Business Insider, 77 5G towers across the UK have been set on fire due to a conspiracy theory that links 5G technology to COVID-19. Additionally, 5G workers have been subject to abuse as a result of these beliefs.

To understand why these conspiracy theories receive such strong support from groups of people across the world, we are joined by Dr. Jessica Micono and Dr. David Morelos, hosts of “Psychology After Dark,” a podcast examining the dark side of psychology and the human experience, including criminal behavior, psychopaths, and cults, to name a few.

In this episode, we dissect the psychology of conspiracy theories advocates. Based on the article “Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories” by Kendra Cherry, we break down the three main psychological motivations for beliefs in conspiracy theories; a need for understanding and consistency (epistemic), a need for control (existential), a need to belong or feel special (social).

We also discuss how confirmation bias impacts our belief systems, the legal implications of sovereign citizens’ beliefs, and MK Ultra, the conspiracy theory turned real-life story.