Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.   In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie are discussing: Conspiracy theories. They will talk about what makes a Conspiracy Theory and why we believe them. [May 1, 2023]   00:00 - Intro 00:17 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro 00:59 - Intro Links -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                                04:45 - The Topic of the Day: The TRUTH Behind Conspiracy Theories 05:54 - What is a Conspiracy Theory? 07:39 - What's the harm? 10:20 - WHY??? 11:17 - Pattern Seekers 13:15 - Cognitive Closure 17:04 - The Role of Critical Thinking 19:18 - An Existential Element 20:41 - Don't Forget the Lizards! 22:35 - What about Bigfoot? 24:30 - Escapism 30:15 - Reading the Emotions 32:29 - Social Motive 33:31 - Emotions vs Critical Thinking 36:42 - Prove Me Wrong! 39:09 - The Takeaway: Empathy 40:57 - Wrap Up & Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org   Find us online: -          Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbiejmarono -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd-35ab2611a -          Twitter: https://twitter.com/humanhacker -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy   References: Abalakina-Paap, M., Stephan, W. G., Craig, T., & Gregory, L. (1999). Beliefs in conspiracies. Political Psychology, 20, 637–647. Adams, G., O’Brien, L. T., & Nelson, J. C. (2006). Perceptions of racism in Hurricane Katrina: A liberation psychology analysis. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 6, 215–235. Bilewicz, M., Winiewski, M., Kofta, M., & Wójcik, A. (2013). Harmful ideas: The structure and consequences of antiSemitic beliefs in Poland. Political Psychology, 34, 821–839. Bost, P. R., & Prunier, S. G. (2013). Rationality in conspiracy beliefs: The role of perceived motive. Psychological Reports, 113, 118–128 Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R., Broadnax, S., & Blaine, B. E. (1999). Belief in U.S. government conspiracies against Blacks among Black and White college students: Powerlessness or system blame? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 941–953. Dieguez, S., Wagner-Egger, P., & Gauvrit, N. (2015). Nothing happens by accident, or does it? A low prior for randomness does not explain belief in conspiracy theories. Psychological Science, 26, 1762–1770. Dieguez, S., Wagner-Egger, P., & Gauvrit, N. (2015). Nothing happens by accident, or does it? A low prior for randomness does not explain belief in conspiracy theories. Psychological Science, 26(11), 1762–1770. https://doi. org/10.1177/0956797615598740 DiFonzo, N., Bordia, P., & Rosnow, R. L. (1994). Reining in rumors. Organizational Dynamics, 23(1), 47–62. https://doi. org/10.1016/0090-2616(94)90087-6 Douglas, K. M., & Leite, A. C. (2017). Suspicion in the workplace: Organizational conspiracy theories and workrelated outcomes. British Journal of Psychology, 108, 486–506. Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2008). The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: Perceived and actual impact of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Journal of Social Psychology, 148, 210–221. Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The psychology of conspiracy theories. Current directions in psychological science, 26(6), 538-542. Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., Callan, M. J., Dawtry, R. J., & Harv