Why do many people believe false conspiracy theories and sometimes act on them, threatening democracies and individual lives? Are believers failing to think critically? After contrasting critical thinking with conspiracist thinking, we review research examining whether conspiracists lack critical thinking skills or are less disposed to think critically than those who endorse them less. We report recent findings showing that believers tend to be more cynical and reliant on an intuitive cognitive style, while individuals endorsing them less are more reflective, rational-analytic, and scientifically skeptical. We discuss the implications of these findings for good citizenship in democratic societies.