Conspiracy mentality as an adaptation to historical trauma | Seminar with Michał Bilewicz
- ONLINE
- English
It is our pleasure to invite you to another seminar in the Center for Research on Social Memory Seminar series. This time we will meet with Michał Bilewicz, author of "Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości" and Zofia Wóycicka as a moderator, to discuss "Conspiracy mentality as an adaptation to historical trauma".
Abstract
Conspiracy beliefs are often viewed as a form of psychopathology, closely linked to anxiety, paranoia, and maladaptive traits. However, recent research has brought attention to adaptive and functional aspects of conspiracy theories. I would like to present a framework for understanding conspiracy mentality (a generalized tendency to believe conspiracy theories) as a paradoxical adaptation to historical trauma. There is vast evidence that three essential aspects of historical trauma (loss of personal and collective control, status devaluation, and victimhood) constitute the key antecedents of conspiracy beliefs. Although conspiracy theories might be adaptive in times of shared trauma (e.g., war, colonization), they become maladaptive in times of peace and prosperity. Examples from research performed in Poland, Greece and other traumatized societies will be presented as evidence for such destructive consequences of historical trauma.
Michał Bilewicz is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Warsaw, where he established the Center for Research on Prejudice. Previously, he was a Fulbright scholar at the New School for Social Research (USA) and DAAD postdoctoral fellow at the University of Jena (Germany). In 2005-2019 he served as the Vice-President of Forum for Dialogue and since 2020 he has been chairing the Scholarly Advisory Board of this NGO focusing on raising awareness of the histories of Jews in Poland and inspiring new connections between contemporary Poland and the Jewish people. His research interests include psychological foundations of prejudice, post-genocide reconciliation, dehumanization, antisemitism, and collective moral emotions. For his research in political psychology he received the Nevitt Sanford Award of the International Society of Political Psychology. His works appeared in "Political Psychology", "Memory Studies", "Psychological Inquiry" and "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology", among other journals. Recently he published the book "Traumaland" that aims to analyze the traumatic sources of social, political and psychological specificity of Polish society.
