Thank you for listening and supporting This Might Help.

In this week's episode, we explore what conspiracy theories are and unpack why people are drawn to them, including that they are driven by a need for certainty, a need for control and social motives, alongside cognitive biases and proportionality bias. We also discuss the real-world consequences, from reduced health behaviours to lower political engagement and weakened social cohesion. Finally, the episode offers practical strategies for managing misinformation and approaches to having respectful debunking conversations.

You can find us on socials @thismighthelppodcast – ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok

The full video version of this episode is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@thismighthelppodcast

Some of the key research we chat about can be found below:

Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017). The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(6), 538-542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417718261

Caulfield, M., & Wineburg, S. (2023). Verified: How to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online. The University of Chicago Press

van Prooijen, J. W., Spadaro, G., & Wang, H. (2021). Suspicion of institutions: How distrust and conspiracy theories deteriorate social relationships.Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 65–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.013

Some additional resources can be found here:

Podcast episode with Dr Karen Douglas https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/conspiracy-theories

SIFT Method: https://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/c.php?g=1241077&p=9082322

Additional support can be found through:

Beyond Blue – https://www.beyondblue.org.au 1300 22 4636 

LifeLine – https://988lifeline.org/get-help/ 13 11 14 

Headspace – https://headspace.org.au 1800 650 890 (for those aged 25 or under)