Ahrcanum

Is conspiracy theory nothing more than cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions.^[2] Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. It is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

What is the motivational drive behind conspiracy?  I’d say it is to ask questions, validate truth, challenge the unknown, suspect what is known in order to come to the conclusion that sometimes, Situation Normal is All F‘kd Up- SNAFU. Wired magazine had this to say,

Although we’re all vulnerable to cognitive dissonance – and the paranoid style has always been a loud presence in American politics – we seem to squander ever more time…