| Ted Goertzel | |
| Birth Date: | 20 November 1942 |
| Fields: | Sociology |
| Workplaces: | Rutgers University–Camden |
| Education: | Antioch College (B.A., 1964), Washington University in St. Louis (M.A., 1966; Ph.D., 1970) |
| Thesis Title: | Brazilian student attitudes towards politics and education |
| Thesis Url: | https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1484641 |
| Thesis Year: | 1970 |
| Doctoral Advisors: | )--> |
| Known For: | Research on conspiracy theories |
| Spouses: | )--> |
| Partners: | )--> |
| Children: | 2 |
Ted George Goertzel (born November 20, 1942), is an Emeritus Professor in the Sociology Department at Rutgers University–Camden. He is the author and co-author of books and articles spanning from social economy, politics, and conspiracy theories.He is the father of Ben Goertzel, with whom he co-authored the 1995 book Linus Pauling: A Life in Science and Politics.
As a social scientist, Goertzel studied conspiracy theories and conspiracy thinking in depth. One of his first studies on the subject started in 1992 with a telephone survey of 348 randomly chosen residents in southwestern New Jersey. The survey was of 10 conspiracy theories circulating at that time. He concluded that anomie, insecurity, and lack of trust in people are positively correlated to conspiratorial thinking. Moreover, people who believe in a conspiracy theory are more likely to believe in more than one.
He is therefore considered an expert on rumors, including the Zika conspiracy theories, ebola, and Moon landing conspiracies.