These psychological tendencies explain why an onslaught of facts won’t necessarily change anyone’s mind.
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Cognitive shortcuts help you efficiently move through a complicated world. But they come with an unwelcome side effect: Facts aren't necessarily enough to change your mind.
The more politicized an issue, the harder it is for people to absorb contradictory evidence.
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Whether in situations relating to scientific consensus, economic history or current political events, denialism has its roots in what psychologists call 'motivated reasoning.'
Don’t shout or lecture – just talk.
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Is making sense of a story more important than getting at its truth? Looking at the treatment of myth in ancient Greece may help us navigate what is true, and whether that matters.
Have some healthy skepticism when you encounter images online.
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Images without context or presented with text that misrepresents what they show can be a powerful tool of misinformation, especially since photos make statements seem more believable.
What’s behind this natural tendency?
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Whether in situations relating to scientific consensus, economic history or current political events, denialism has its roots in what psychologists call 'motivated reasoning.'
The world faces a collision between facts and alternative facts – so how do experts get their message heard over the din of fake news?
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller makes a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, May 29, 2019.
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What's the role of someone who, like
Robert Mueller, speaks only facts in a tornado of partisan bombast? Is it a breath of fresh air or an abdication of responsibility to protect America's interests?
Can a country move ahead when its citizens hold dueling facts?
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How can a community decide the direction it should go, if its members cannot even agree on where they are? Two political scientists say the growing phenomenon of dueling facts threatens democracy.
Psychology research suggests a new tool for your ‘disagreement toolbox.’
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Research suggests people intuitively draw a distinction between what is known and what is believed. Recognizing the difference can help in ideological disagreements.
Mountains keep growing and growing and growing for many millions of years until they are so heavy that they can no longer grow taller, only wider.
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When I was little, geologists worked out Earth's surface was made of pieces, like a giant puzzle. Those pieces, called “tectonic plates”, move and bump into each other and mountains form.
Cognitive psychologists know the way our minds work means we not only don't notice errors and misinformation we know are wrong, we also then remember them as true.
Even common knowledge isn’t immune.
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Dealing with a co-worker or manager who says demonstrably false things can be a challenge, particularly at holiday office parties. Here's a guide to handle a colleague in denial.
Rick Sanchez of the animated series Rick and Morty embodies the erroneous popular archetype of the scientist as eccentric lone genius.
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The myth of the lone genius, hero scientist is dangerous for science and society. Here's how to fix it.
In Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro’s character, Travis Bickle, inhabits his own crazy paradigm, yet ultimately events frame him as a hero in the eyes of others too.
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As Orwell knew only too well, if the concept of objective truth is moved into the dustbin of history there can be no lies. And if there are no lies there can be no justice, no rights and no wrongs.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces the launch of Oculus Go virtual reality headset in October.
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Will the arrival and popularity of Oculus Go and other VR systems make us think differently about alternative realities and so-called alternative facts?
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine; Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Psychiatric Times., Tufts University