Misperceptions about politics and health can undermine public debate and distort people’s choices and behavior. Why do people hold these false or unsupported beliefs and why is it so difficult to change their minds? An emerging literature examines the difficulty of correcting false or unsupported beliefs and the reasons for […] Read more »
It Doesn’t Matter If You Think It’s Nice Out
… When we encourage people to look to the weather for evidence of climate change, we’re inadvertently asking them to retreat from the pursuit of a more global understanding. … Making sense of the weather and what it means about our changing climate may entail studying it in aggregate, attending […] Read more »
Why People Are Confused About What Experts Really Think
Given the complexities of the modern world, we all have to rely on expert opinion. … And to find out what the experts think, we typically rely on the news media. This creates a challenge for journalists: There are many issues on which a large majority of experts agree but […] Read more »
The Virtue of Contradicting Ourselves
… We don’t just loathe inconsistencies in others; we hate them in ourselves, too. But why? What makes contradictions so revolting — and should they be? … Using neuroscience to track the activation of different brain regions, Professor Harmon-Jones and colleagues found that inconsistent beliefs really bother us only when […] Read more »
The Price of Denialism
… When we withhold belief because the evidence does not live up to the standards of science, we are skeptical. When we refuse to believe something, even in the face of what most others would take to be compelling evidence, we are engaging in denial. In most cases, we do […] Read more »
Neuropolitics, Where Campaigns Try to Read Your Mind
… All over the world, political campaigns are seeking voter data and insights that will propel them to victory. Now, in an increasing number of places, that includes the contentious field known as neuromarketing — or in this case, neuropolitics. Technologies like facial coding, biofeedback and brain imaging have long […] Read more »