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Alex White

English Comp 1102

Professor Kjirsten

17 March 2019
Annotated Bibliography

My paper is going to answer the question that conspiracy theories are just mind

tricks on the human brain. Many people believe and talk about conspiracy theories

without realizing what they do to the mind. They persuade the mind which leads to

social consequences. When you look at the depth and truth of theories you can see

what they do to your mind, and you can learn how to avoid the negative consequences.

Brotherton, Rob. Suspicious Minds. Reprint edition, Bloomsbury Sigma, November

2015, https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/suspicious-minds-9781472915641/

Accessed 1 March 2019.

Rob Brotherton, author of Suspicious Minds, wrote that, humans pose a quality

called intentionality bias, which tricks people into assuming every incidental event that

happens in the world is the result of someone’s intention. This idea can trick peoples’

minds into thinking everything happens for a reason. He also discusses the history and

consequences of conspiracism. This idea is supported by the author thinking that since

Trump supports conspiracy theories he knows how to work with them to convince the

public. It is also supported by the author’s own research and studies. This is important

to me because he talks about how all the theories come from the top and work its way

down to the bottom. This source is reliable because the author made sure to include

examples from other sources. Also the author is unbiased and provides evidence for
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both sides of the debate. This book can help me because it is very factual. It provides

actual evidence and findings rather than just stating what the author believes. It can be

a good use of logos.

Douglas, Karen. ‘‘Are Conspiracy Theories All Bad?” New York Times, January 4 2015,

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/01/04/are-conspiracy-theories-all-

bad-17/the-negative-social-impact-of-conspiracy-theories. Accessed 29 February

2019.

Karen Douglas, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent in

England, wrote that, conspiracy theories decreased social engagement because they

left people feeling powerless. There is also some evidence that conspiracy theories

might influence people without them knowing it. She discusses how people who lead to

believe in anti-government conspiracy theories were less likely to want to vote than

those who had read the factual information against the conspiracy theories. This idea is

supported by the authors own findings and research with the help of her colleague

Daniel Jolley. I know this source is credible because the article was part of a popular

and trustworthy magazine. The magazine company wouldn’t release an article that

wasn’t reliable and up to the standards. This is important to me because it shows how

conspiracy theories don’t just play with the public but effect the public. I will use this

article because it talks about how the public is effected and persuaded by conspiracy

theories. It also gives me more information on how the government can play a part of

conspiracy theories. It provides a new understanding and support to some of my beliefs.

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Faulkner, Carol. Interview with Michael Barkun, “A CULTURE OF CONSPIRACY: AN

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL BARKUN.” September 22 2013,

http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-culture-of-conspiracy-interview-

with.html. Accessed 1 March 2019.

Carol Faulkner, interviewed Michael Barkun about his book A Culture of

Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America, discussed that, conspiracy

theories have become mainstreamed and they are accepted in the American culture. By

them being accepted everything seems to happen because of a mysterious cause and

everything is questionable. He also discusses the background of 9/11 conspiracy

theories, how Barack Obama was hiding his true self, and also how more attacks have

happened due to the belief that a social catastrophe is coming. These ideas are

supported by referring back to the author’s book and asking him questions to get a

better understanding of his thinking. The author refers back to his ten years worth of

research and findings. This is important to me because the author provides evidence in

his answers and he provides reasoning for his thinking. He also has a lot of research to

back his thinking off of. I know it is credible because the author has good credentials

and knowing the thinking behind an author helps support and back up questions that

could appear. This interview will help me because it provides evidence and answers for

the public. I can also clearly understand how an author’s mind works which can help me

get started on my paper.

Linden, Sander. “The Surprising Power of Conspiracy Theories.” Phycology Today, 24

Aug. 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/socially-

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relevant/201508/the-surprising-power-conspiracy-theories. Accessed March 1

2019.

Sander Linden, an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of

Psychology at the University of Cambridge, wrote that, exposure to a popular

conspiracy theory can make you less pro-social and less likely to accept established

scientific principles. He also writes that when the public gets persuaded they will throw

their reasoning and logic out to back a conspiracy theory. He discusses that

psychologists who study conspiracy theories do not investigate if a particular conspiracy

theory is true. Rather, they are interested in the social consequences and the

psychological nature of the theories. This idea is supported through control groups that

prove that the spread of influential conspiracy propaganda can have serious societal

consequences. This is important to me because it helps provide more evidence that

conspiracy theories are just mind tricks. I know this article is credible because it

provides the works used and looking at those they are all credible. Also the overall text

is grammatically correct and is unbiased. I will use this article in my essay because it

uses an actual experiment on people for evidence. It isn’t a make believe experiment

and I can use it for statistics and evidence to back up my thinking.

Preston, Elizabeth. “Phsycology and the Allure of Conspiracy Theories.” UnDark, 27

Feb. 2019, https://undark.org/article/the-psychology-and-allure-of-conspiracy-

theories/. Accessed March 1 2019.

Elizabeth Preston, a freelance science journalist and editor also the former editor

of the children’s science magazine Muse, wrote that, understanding where conspiracy

beliefs come from can help researchers figure out how to intervene. She goes on to say
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that you can bend the truth of one theory with another one. She then moves on to talk

about how people who believe in conspiracy theories are more likely to perceive

patterns in random stimuli. This idea is supported by looking at “American Conspiracy

Theories” by Joseph Uscinski and Karen Douglas’ paper about a link between

conspiracy theories and societal crises. By looking at these two credible sources it acts

as a good backbone to set up the structure of the overall text being credible. Also the

statics are true and reliable results. This is important to me because reading through

both the book and the paper they are both trustworthy pieces of evidence. This article

can be used in my paper to talk about the take on factual evidence opposed to

mythological evidence. I can deny statements made by people who don’t have enough

proper evidence to back up their thinking.

Sandlin, Jennifer A., and Wallin, Jason J. Paranoid Pedagogies: Education, Culture,

and Paranoia. First edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783319647647. Accessed March 1 2019.

Jennifer Sandlin, an associate professor of justice and social inquiry in the

School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, and Jason Wallin, an

Associate Professor of Media and Youth Culture in Curriculum at the University of

Alberta, discuss that, conspiracy theories are strategies of meta-dismissal and a mode

of refutation that dismisses an argument’s claims and content. Therefore, giving people

a chance not to worry about logic or evidence, but to only think about the endless

possibilities. They talk about how paranoia shapes the social order and the material

desire of subjects operating within it. This idea is supported by much of the authors own

research and findings. Thus, helping it make it credible. Also if you look at the two
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authors you see that they are professors who have written other credible articles making

this one credible as well. The research is fundamental because it is all the reader has to

back up the thinking of the author. This is important to me because if the author seems

questionable in a section I can read through the article or books where they got their

information from and back it up or deny it from there. I will use this source to talk about

the more brain impaired items involving the mind tricks of conspiracy theories. I can use

it to talk about the anatomy part of the brain and to talk about why the brain is easily

persuaded.

Shermer, Michael and Linse, Pat, “Conspiracy Theories.” Mashable and Skeptic

https://www.skeptic.com/downloads/conspiracy-theories-who-why-and-how.pdf.

Accessed March 1 2019.

Michael Shermer, the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, discusses that,

conspiracy theories are a proposed plot by people working together to provide a default

explanation to any event. That they are a monological belief system where thoughts

come together in a supportive system. This idea is supported by looking through ten

different sections that include reason and evidence that support that conspiracy theories

are just beliefs turned into a mind trick. Some sections talk about how political

ideologies also play a role in conspiratorial belief, that education makes a difference, or

even that group identity is a factor. This information is important to me because it

provides a solid background of information and trust in the article. I know this article is

credible because I looked up the authors and they have both written other incredible

unbiased articles. I know that doesn’t make this article credible as well but it acts as a

good support. The article also stays true to the statistics and doesn’t try to bend the
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truth to make it seem true. It also is helpful to me as I investigate and look further into

the mind tricks that conspiracy theories play on the human mind. I can use this article in

my paper to give the statistics of the facts. I know I have a couple of other articles that

do the same thing but these articles help me get the reason and structure to go off of. If

an article didn’t have examples to back up the thinking why believe it?