Winchester Skeptics: "The psychology of conspiracy theories"

Basingstoke Cafe Sci subscribers are invited to the talk hosted by Winchester Skeptics In The Pub. Tonight's talk is titled “The psychology of conspiracy theories” and is led by Dr Mike Wood.

Winchester Skeptics hosts a guest speaker on the last Thursday of every month. They provide an opportunity for people who are interested in science, skepticism, rationalism and critical thinking to socialise and discuss matters of interest.

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What's the talk about?

Sense, nonsense, and everything in between: The psychology of conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories are everywhere – and, arguably, always have been. What influences us to believe or reject them? Why do some events give rise to more conspiracy theories than others? What does the prevalence of conspiracy theories say about us as a society? And how is The Simpsons like an ancient Babylonian sheep’s liver? This whirlwind tour through conspiracy theory psychology will focus particularly on how suspicion, paranoia, and ambiguity help us to make sense of an uncertain world.

The Speaker:

Dr Mike Wood is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Winchester, where he teaches social psychology, political psychology, and research methods, and conducts research on conspiracy theories and the future of methodology and statistical practice in empirical psychology. He has been interviewed on NPR, Newsweek, Der Spiegel, and Slate, and blogs irregularly at

ConspiracyPsychology.com (https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/kHSZVSu05s0/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fhampshireskeptics.us15.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D28d7c976b888b58a83e451d9e%26id%3Dde232eae5b%26e%3Dbd2653e7be)

The Venue:

The Licensed front cafe bar at the Winchester Discovery Centre area will be open from 7.00pm. The talks for Winchester Skeptics in the Pub start at 7.30pm in the main theatre. Suggested donation £3 for entry into a book raffle to cover speakers expenses and theatre hire that is collected at the door.

Hosted by the Winchester Skeptics in the Pub