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The human mind doesn’t always seem to work rationally. Why do beliefs in pseudoscience, supernatural entities and conspiracy theories thrive even when they seem implausible or lack evidence?   

For years, this question has puzzled cognitive and evolutionary scientists. Often, such extraordinary beliefs are explained as byproducts of cognitive biases that make the belief compelling and/or by social dynamics, like the pressure to fit in with a group.

But new research from �鶹��ý suggests that a third factor is just as important: experience. 

“The Earth is round. That’s a scientific fact. And yet, there is an extremely robust flat Earth community.” — Eli Elster, �鶹��ý researcher

In a new for Trends in Cognitive Sciences, anthropology graduate student Eli Elster and Assistant Professor of Anthropology synthesized a host of research from the field to argue that personal experience shapes extraordinary beliefs, such as the Earth is flat or that prayer leads to experiences with a god, just as much as cognitive biases and social dynamics.

“With extraordinary beliefs, scientists tend to put them in a category separate from ordinary beliefs under the assumption that people don’t arrive at them or change them based on evidence,” Elster said. 

The researchers suggest that adding the factor of personal experience can help explain why people hold extraordinary beliefs. 

Perception shapes extraordinary beliefs 

In their paper, the researchers identified three pathways through which experience shapes extraordinary beliefs. 

First, experience can act as a filter, shaping which beliefs feel plausible based on perceptual evidence. Elster used the flat Earth theory as an example. 

“The Earth is round. That’s a scientific fact. And yet, there is an extremely robust flat Earth community,” Elster said. “People find the theory very compelling, even though it isn’t true. Why? Well, one clue comes from the fact that we don’t see similar communities for cone Earth, or cube Earth, or any shape other than flat, even though those are equally wrong. This suggests that something makes flat Earth, in particular, much more intuitive than the alternatives.”

The researchers suggest that the answer lies in perception: people believe the Earth is flat because that’s what they see with their own eyes. Even though the belief is factually incorrect, it spreads through the population — unlike cone Earth or cube Earth — because visual evidence makes it seem to be true.  

The role of anomalous experiences 

Second, experience can act as a spark that can ignite extraordinary beliefs. 

The researchers pointed to sleep paralysis as a prime example. Sleep paralysis refers to an involuntary state of paralysis that occurs when one transitions in and out of sleep. Sufferers tend to report feeling like a threatening agent is sitting on their chest. 

Though estimates of those who have experienced sleep paralysis range from 2% to 60%, the experience is profound and can take on spiritual, religious or paranormal significance. Even secular people who experience sleep paralysis report feeling the presence of unseen entities. 

Elster and Singh theorize that sleep paralysis, and similar anomalous experiences, may reinforce or spur extraordinary beliefs. 

The influence of immersive experiences and society

The final pathway, and the one Elster finds most theoretically intriguing, is that societies use immersive experiences to promote extraordinary beliefs. 

These immersive experiences are facilitated by what he calls “experiential technologies,” which are practices like prayer and hallucinogenic drug use. 

“I think some of the best work on this has been done with Evangelical Christians,” Elster said. “Anthropologists have found that people in these communities consistently feel the presence of God when they pray. But it takes practice to get to that point — as with any other skill, people can become better at inducing these experiences through prayer, often assisted or joined by their communities. And because of these experiences, they come to feel like they have evidence of God watching over them.” 

The researchers provide similar explanations for the use of hallucinogenic drugs or ritualistic dance. They argue that these immersive practices give people evidence that supports extraordinary beliefs.

A link between extraordinary and ordinary beliefs

Elster argues that understanding how experiences shape extraordinary beliefs could impact interventions aimed at combatting misinformation. 

“This framework actually collapses the distinction between extraordinary and ordinary beliefs,” Elster said. “So I hope that there’s an impetus here for us to feel a little more compassion toward people who hold beliefs that seem very different from ours. They probably hold their beliefs for the same reasons as anyone else; they think the evidence is on their side.”