I would think that status motivations are only a minor element in what makes a person a Truther. It has far more to do with purely cognitive factors, such as a prior conception of the world as being governed by a clique of sociopathic criminal masterminds.
I would think that status motivations are only a minor element in what makes a person a Truther. It has far more to do with purely cognitive factors, such as a prior conception of the world as being governed by a clique of sociopathic criminal masterminds.
And what was the motivation for that prior conception?
Some might find that conception more comforting than the truth—no one governs the world.
Experiences, personality traits, noise.
Also low status, not fitting in, and a desire to justify this in terms of the illegitimacy of the existing social order.
Occam’s Razor, perhaps.
Also the strong human tendency to project agency on the world.