Discover

Rough & Ugly Essential/Driving Questions

1. Why do people come up with conspiracy theories, specifically in times of crisis?

2. How do conspiracy theories negatively impact our society?

3. What psychological factors drive the popularity of conspiracy theories? What external factors drive the formation and acceptance of conspiracy theories?

4. What are the psychological consequences of adopting these theories?

5. How does the brain of a conspiracy theorist differ from someone who is less prone to conspiracies?

6. How do conspiracy theories form and what role does the internet have in fueling them?

7. How has social media and the news changed the way people interpret information and current events? Are the theories spread on social media negatively affecting development in youth?

8. How have conspiracy theories affected beliefs around the Coronavirus and how different would our current situation be if such conspiracies were not spread?

9. Are conspiracy theories inevitable in all situations? If so, how?

10. How can the effect of conspiracy theories be monitored within different individuals?

FlipGrid Meta: 10/31

This activity definitely allowed me to get more comfortable with my topic and reassurance that I’m headed in the right direction. I think I still need to spend a little more time on my preserach to fill any gaps before I can move on to Mod 4. My presearch was a little heavier on the psychology of conspiracy theories side but now I should get more information on how they affect our society and the role that social media plays in fueling them. In my video summary I talked about the different psychological ideas that cause conspiracy theories to form and how they specifically latch on to certain people. I included confirmatory bias, Adaptive Conspiracism Hypothesis, and Illusory Pattern Perception. These are all really interesting concepts but I want to find a couple more, even if it’s not included in my project but rather just to deepen my understanding on the topic. I also briefly mentioned a couple stats about the effects of conspiracy theories in America but I want to expand on that and possibly look deeper into COVID-19 related conspiracies. I think it would be helpful to focus on something that’s currently ongoing so I can directly observe the effects it has on society. My LEAP group members said that the essential questions I looked at during my preserach were well thought out, so I think I have a good foundation to work off of. The way I structured my FlipGrid seemed to flow nicely and was easy to understand so I’ll keep that information as is and build off of it. Additionally, the feedback and recommendations my group suggested were very helpful and will aid me as I continue to do research. Moving forward, I will look further into where the misinformation is coming from and how biases affect information put out in the media. I also need to work on creating a strong team that will help me through my project. Because I changed my topic, the initial leap activity we did no longer applies so I’ll try to redo it with my new idea.

The "So What" Factor 1/7

One of the Moth stories I chose to listen to was called Priceless Mangoes, a story about an Indian girl learning to take pride in her identity, something I relate to as well. Saya, the speaker, started off by stating that she grew up in New York, surrounded by mostly white people. She would always try to blend in with her other white friends, wanting to act like them in a way that was organized and put together. She kept her family from speaking in Hindi around her friends, feeling ashamed of her culture and background. When she hung out with her Indian friends, everybody was more rough and messy, but she didn’t want to be like that. One day, her mom told her that they were going to India for 2 weeks. She wanted to stay home with her friends but agreed to go anyway. There she saw everybody was free and like a big community. When she stayed at her grandma’s apartment, all of the neighbors took care of each other like they were family, something that she never experienced in New York. She fell in love with the culture and community in India. Fast forward to when she was back home and went to a restaurant with her Indian friends where they were being rowdy and enjoying each other’s company. A man came over and told them that if they want to act uncivilized, they should go back to their own country. Her mom stood up, walked to him, and said that they have as much of a right to be in this country as him. In that moment, Saya was so proud to be Indian. She was so grateful for her mom for speaking up, feeling a sense of togetherness with her Indian community.

Many first and second-generation immigrants have often faced similar situations and learned to grow from that phase. Through Saya’s story, she explained the event that made her realize that she should not be afraid to hide her true identity. The “So What” from this is that it’s important to embrace our differences and be proud of who we are.