Skeptic Project

Their rigid thinking also makes it more difficult for them to integrate knew knoweldge into existing cogntive schemas, therefore explaining the complete rejection of new evidence in modifying their CTs

I've got Assburger traits and I ain't a Truther.

I'm not really sure I buy into the notion that someone has Assburgers or they don't. I think its degrees of traits.

My traits don't really fall under the anti-social parts of the Assburgers spectrum.

I think the Truthers who don't outgrow it suffer from much more serious personality disorders.

And you're right about the GP support. Understanding myself allows for much more rational decisions. Which is why I no longer support the GP.

"What I assume you meant is they can adapt to and compensate for the shortcomings."

Yes, if they have the metacognition to do so. Those that lack the metacognition to do so probably suffer from other personality disorders in addition to the Assburgers and they're just going by what their Pdoc or Tdoc diagnosed them with for insurance filing purposes.

"Many who fail to do so develop or continue to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, which could certainly lead to more Truthiness."

I'd agree with that.

I'll never forget the Zeitgeist movie supporter who said "I primarily agree with Zeitgeist because it goes against the status quo." How insanely retarded.

Interesting parallels. I think on balance there are a range of psycholgical processes that contribute to the beliefs of CTs. I think primarily it is underpinned by unmet emotional needs combined with a somewhat antisocial personality style (by that I mean a disposition to be critical of, and resitent to authority).

All people strive for meaning, we are meaning makers. If our lives, for whatever reason, lack meaning that is sufficiently stimulating and coherent, we will create a meaning that provides us with this, at the expense of other factors such as a strong evidence base.

I did My Clinical Psychology doctoral thesis on Persecutory Delusions, which some people understand to be a defensive process. A sensitive of fragile sense of self leads to an inability to tolerate our own mistakes. This leads to an externalising cognitive style in which events, especially negative ones, are attributed to external, personal causes. So, when late for a meeting, rather than blaming oneself (internal cause) or the traffic (external-situational cause), people blame a conspiracy against them (external-personal cause). The reason they chose the external-personal rather than the external-situational cause, is that blaming a situation rather that a person requires greater cognitive resources, so if already stressed, it is more likely we will revert to blaming individuals for our mistakes rather than considering the more inherently complex systemic factors.

I think it is the underlying emotional needs and their influence on defensive cognitive processes, combined with the grandiosity that comes with believing you are one of few people with special knowledge, underpins CT beliefs, rather than Aspergers. Nevertheless, a rigid cognitive style may also not help!!