antifainternational:

So this is interesting/informative.  Key takeaways:

-People who buy into conspiracy theories are not very good critical thinkers.

-Specifically, conspiracy theorists are less-than-optimal at thinking systematically; seeing other perspectives, changing their minds when new evidence arises; identifying relevant versus irrelevant information; identifying and discarding logical fallacies; being aware of biases and avoiding them; and looking beyond the obvious.

-Good news! Those critical thinking skills can be taught!  Even 10-12 year olds can easily be taught critical thinking skills!

-Bad news! The challenge to teaching critical thinking skills to conspiracy theorists is their own egos.  There appears to be a “robust association” between the need to feel unique or special and the adoption/belief of conspiracy theories.