Why people believe in conspiracy theories: An expert explains the psychology of conspiratorial thinking

Are there certain types of people who are more prone to believing in conspiracy theories than others? Does it match any kind of political lines?

Everyone is prone to some degree of bias and motivated reasoning — where do you draw the line, if there is one?

I hear a lot of stories from people who email or from friends who have a brother, or cousin, or friend who they say is normal and smart, but then they’re horrified to find conspiratorial stuff on their Facebook page or whatnot. One was even a medical student at a very prestigious school. How do otherwise smart and reasonable people end up believing this stuff?

How should we think of conspiracy theorists? They’re often dismissed as fringey nuts, but an awful lot of Americans believe in one conspiracy or another.”