6 Conspiratorial Thinking

WEEK 6: CONSPIRATORIAL THINKING

Overview:

This week we’ll take a look at how the cognitive shortcomings we learned about last week contribute to conspiratorial thinking. We’ll also explore how our human need to belong works against us in relation to disinformation and conspiracy theories. As usual, we’ll be connecting these ideas to our work as media literacy educators and influencers. If these topics are intriguing to you, they may be a good choice for the research you’ll be conducting later in the semester.

Activities are quite reading intensive this week, so give yourself plenty of time and consider taking notes. It will take up to 6 hours to complete all of the assignments in this module.

Objectives:

1. Examine the reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories.
2. Explore some of the consequences of conspiratorial thinking.
3. Consider how we might engage with those who are firmly entrenched in conspiratorial thinking.

Activities:

1. Conspiratorial Thinking
(60 minutes) Go to our Checkology course, log in, and complete the Conspiratorial Thinking lesson. Then answer the following questions:

• • • How are conspiracy theories and echo chambers connected?
    • What is motivated reasoning? How does it connect to confirmation bias and conspiratorial thinking?
    • What are some of the factors that might make it difficult to address someone’s conspiratorial thinking?

2. Belonging and Conspiratorial Thinking

(90 minutes) Now let’s take a look at the Us vs. Them thinking that is often associated with conspiratorial thinking. Read the following articles, then respond to the questions that follow each citation.

Fisher, M. (2021, May 10). In an us-versus-them world, misinformation reigns. New York Times. Boise State Access

• • • According to the article people are more prone to misinformation when what three things happen?
    • How is this related to conspiratorial thinking?
    • What happens when our brains switch into “identity-based conflict mode”?

Clark, C. J., Liu, B. S., Winegard, B. M., & Ditto, P. H. (2019). Tribalism is human nature. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(6), 587-592.

• • • What concepts are the same as the previous article?
    • Which concepts are different?
    • What solutions do either of these articles offer?
    • How might we operationalize their ideas  in our efforts to help our communities better deal with misinformation?

3. A Different Take on Conspiracy Theories

(60 minutes) We hope to have 2 guest speakers this week in our lab, Ginna Husting and Martin Orr, sociology professors. Reading their article will help prepare us to better engage with them and their scholarship. Read the following article, then respond to the questions below:

Husting, G., & Orr, M. (2007). Dangerous machinery: “Conspiracy theorist” as a transpersonal strategy of exclusion. Symbolic interaction, 30(2), 127-150. Boise State Access

• • • What are the key concepts from the article?
    • How are they different from what we’ve previously read about conspiracy theory belief?
    • What questions might we ask the authors about this article?

4. Addressing Conspiracy Theory Belief

(90 minutes) Read the following articles for ideas of how to relate to conspiracy theory believers. Then answer the questions below:

How to Talk to Conspiracy Theorists – And Still Be Kind

Zen and the Art of Talking to Conspiracy Theorists

• • • What concepts are the same between the 2 articles?
    • What concepts are different?
    • What connections can you think of between these ideas and other concepts we’ve explored before either in this module or others?

5. CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA POST

(60 minutes) Choose one of the following:

• Create a short reel (60 seconds or less) for Instagram or Facebook related to what you’ve learned this week. Submit a link to the reel rather than the reel itself.
• OR write a brief blog post (1-2 paragraphs) to help your peers better understand the issues we learned about this week. Include an image to be used with the post.
• OR create a series of 3 posts with images and wording for Facebook or Instagram. Include the hashtag #DisinfoSquad in your creation.

PRO TIPS:
– Include captioning on reels that have no type.
– Link to one of the resources you’ve used in the course or on the Disinfo Debunking guide

(60 minutes)

• Create a short reel (60 seconds or less) for Instagram or Facebook related to what you’ve learned this week. Submit a link to the reel rather than the reel itself.
• OR write a brief blog post (1-2 paragraphs) to help your peers better understand the issues we learned about this week. Include an image to be used with the post.
• OR create a series of 3 posts with images and wording for Facebook or Instagram. Include the hashtag #DisinfoSquad in your creation.

PRO TIPS:
– Include captioning on reels that have no type.
– Link to one of the resources you’ve used in the course or on the Disinfo Debunking guide