Conspiracy theories and schizophrenia

[Bikewer]

I was listening to a CBS Sunday Morning segment on a fellow who began manifesting symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia at early middle age and who dropped out of society, became homeless, and eventually died alone and unknown. Tragic tale...But I wondered if the tendency towards this particular manifestation of schizo-affective syndrome (as they are calling it now) might reflect a natural tendency in humans.

I listened to a lecture by E. O. Wilson some years back where he talked about brain structures in humans responding directly to ritual and ceremony, and that malfunctions of these areas led to syndromes like obsessive/compulsive behavior.

Might we have a tendency towards seeing shadowy forces at work against us? Look at the incidence of belief in conspiracy theories. Seems a very substantial segment of the population is willing to beleive that some nebulous "they" are doing something they shouldn't ...And messing with them on a personal level.
We are very sensitive about office gossip and cliques and such as they may be talking about us...

Is the severe malfunction of brain chemistry in schizophrenia (if that's what's going on) just affecting this tendency in particular in the case of paranoid?

 

[casebro]

Sounds like just another CT to me. And me too.

Hmmm, is brain chemistry like a snow ball rolling down hill?

Though an interesting thing I learned by having the 23andMe do my genes is how many connections there are between genes and brain chemistry. Nothing absolute, but lots of connections. And so, if it's genetic, it's chemical.

Side note for Bikewer, something called the 'warrior gene', anti-social and aggressive. It's an MAO thing, related to manic/depressive. Very common among convicts. And I'll bet cops. Waddya think?

 

[TubbaBlubba]

I'm not sure. A lot, if not most, of the conspiracy theories that float around today are essentially re-hashed versions of antisemitic theories of World Jewry. I'm not quite cynical enough to ascribe such ideas to any fundamental tendency in humans other than sheer bigotry in a quasiintellectual disguise.

 

[blutoski]

I was listening to a CBS Sunday Morning segment on a fellow who began manifesting symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia at early middle age and who dropped out of society, became homeless, and eventually died alone and unknown. Tragic tale...But I wondered if the tendency towards this particular manifestation of schizo-affective syndrome (as they are calling it now) might reflect a natural tendency in humans.

I listened to a lecture by E. O. Wilson some years back where he talked about brain structures in humans responding directly to ritual and ceremony, and that malfunctions of these areas led to syndromes like obsessive/compulsive behavior.

Might we have a tendency towards seeing shadowy forces at work against us? Look at the incidence of belief in conspiracy theories. Seems a very substantial segment of the population is willing to beleive that some nebulous "they" are doing something they shouldn't ...And messing with them on a personal level.
We are very sensitive about office gossip and cliques and such as they may be talking about us...

Is the severe malfunction of brain chemistry in schizophrenia (if that's what's going on) just affecting this tendency in particular in the case of paranoid?

Schizoaffective disorder is not a new name for schizophrenia. It's a distinct diagnosis.

However, they have some overlap.

Conspirational thinking is not in and of itself diagnostic, the key elements are disorganized thinking. Genuine conspiracy theorists are usually quite healthy and have organized thinking, but are woefully misinformed.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Conspirational thinking is not in and of itself diagnostic, the key elements are disorganized thinking. Genuine conspiracy theorists are usually quite healthy and have organized thinking, but are woefully misinformed.

Or have a deliberate agenda. Mark Wiley hates FDR. So he promotes collusion in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

[casebro]

I suppose there are psychologist who study the human condition who can report back to us. But I suspect that CT beleivers are not necessarily any further off base than people with tattoos or people that spend all their time posting on the net.

We all strive to be unique, just like everybody else.
And most of us are abnormal to a normal amount, it's just a question of in which direction.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I suppose there are psychologist who study the human condition who can report back to us. But I suspect that CT beleivers are not necessarily any further off base than people with tattoos or people that spend all their time posting on the net.

You'd have to separate "ardent" from "casual". A professor at Purdue casually stated that the Japanese were broadcasting all the way across the Pacific on their way to Pearl Harbor. I ... gently ... corrected him. Contrast to people who slap "FOIA or DIE!!!" stickers in random places.

 

[blutoski]

Schizoaffective disorder is not a new name for schizophrenia. It's a distinct diagnosis.

However, they have some overlap.

Conspirational thinking is not in and of itself diagnostic, the key elements are disorganized thinking. Genuine conspiracy theorists are usually quite healthy and have organized thinking, but are woefully misinformed.

Yes, I think there was another thread where several contributors were trying to build a taxonomy of CT. "Invented to pursue personal gain" was one of the categories for sure.

I did a search for keywords, but couldn't find the original thread.

From memory:

• Misinformed
• Mentally Ill
• Deceptive

 

[blutoski]

Yes, I think there was another thread where several contributors were trying to build a taxonomy of CT. "Invented to pursue personal gain" was one of the categories for sure.

I did a search for keywords, but couldn't find the original thread.

From memory:

• Misinformed
• Mentally Ill
• Deceptive

Actually, there should be a 4th category:

• Misinformed
• Mentally Ill
• Deceptive
• Correct

There's lots of real conspiracies out there. Sometimes there really are people out to get you. (My wife had a patient who thought he was losing his mind... it was his employer gaslighting him to frustrate his attempts to unionize the staff).