yeah. I'm in sociology, and I've talked about the psychological studies that intend to prove that "video games cause violence" - which are really absolutely absurd. But with an ideological bias in your question and a ton of naiveté about how human interaction works (thigs psychologists have in spades), you can cook up a study that "proves" anything.

but yeah, all of this makes sense. People bet on what they believe and want to happen. Also, any structure can be games. We know polls are a means to influence public opinion; if I can get you to think that nobody thinks like you, you might reexamine your views. And of course investing a little money in a prediction market can also shift public opinion, if it makes people think this is a likely - or "true" - outcome...