A main point that stuck out to me from Tuesday’s lecture was the identification of uncertainty as a driving force for shaping behavior during periods of recession. This makes a lot of sense to me, as the desire to understand the world feels intrinsic in our humanity. Lacking the ability to do so would clearly cause mass fear and anxiety, and in turn, the gravitation towards explanations that can rectify this discomfort. In my psychology course last year, we heard a lecture on conspiracy theories that broke down the reasons why people follow them so fervently. The first reason, as Dr. Bianchi mentioned, is epistemic. We are motivated to understand our world and have wired-in needs for predictability and closure. From a sociological perspective, predictability is a huge motivation as to why people ascribe to social structures and constructs; these unwritten rules lay a groundwork for expected interactions between individuals and groups. During a worldwide pandemic, when the typical norms of social and economic life are thrown out the window, it makes sense why people look to conspiracy theories to mitigate the abundance of uncertainty. Another aspect that contributes to this is existential. Humans have the need to feel safe and secure in their environment, and feel like they can exert control over the environment as autonomous individuals. Identifying a cause of otherwise unexplainable societal disorder offers a sense of agency, as it provides a clear line of reasoning that can be intervened with. The last motivation for ascribing to conspiracy theories is social, or the desire to belong. Those who are socially detached are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, and doing so provides community and purpose within a social society. Dr. Bianchi noted that uncertainty creates a psychological need to associate with others. It provides comfort, sense-making, and a model for normative behavior. During COVID especially, when health promotion required the separation of people, the intrinsic need for community felt even greater. 

Conspiracy theories are dangerous and impactful, yet they can be used to reflect epistemological, existential, and social aspects of human nature. This is demonstrated in interviews with those deeply involved with conspiracy groups, as they often share sentiments of feeling control in the cause-and-effect nature of radical explanations. Understanding how they are rooted in uncertainty during periods of recession provide greater context within which these movements can be analyzed.