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Cyndi Sarnoff-Ross is a licensed psychotherapist with almost twenty years of clinical experience in the fields of clinical psychology and organizational management. She has worked extensively with a wide variety of…
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Is it Harder to Accept the Truth Once You’ve Embraced a Lie?
Posted in Healthy Relatio... by Cyndi Sarnoff-Ross on Oct 25, 2012
A Report published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest on research done by Drs. Stephen Lewandowsky and Ullrich Ecker, who are out of The University of Western Australia, concluded that rejecting incorrect information is more difficult to do than simply accepting a message’s validity. In other words, the truth is often harder to accept than a lie that you want to believe.
False information that is disseminated to the public is very hard to undo. In fact, the attempt to undo the message often results in a greater adherence to the original false statement. Examples of these false facts are: President Obama was not born in the U.S. or global warming is a myth.
Once people hear this type of misinformation, and depending upon their pre-existing views on such things as religion, politics, or personal worldview; they are likely to accept the deception as truth, particularly if it is in line with their way of thinking.
The researchers noted that this phenomenon is particularly unsettling in a democracy where people base decisions on information that at some level they know to be untrue.
Some misinformation is designed to scare people away from certain behaviors, such as getting vaccines or buying certain products. Of course politics is loaded with this type of communication and people definitely tend to get behind their own candidates lies and even start to genuinely believe them despite what the busy fact checkers have to say.
While it is extremely difficult to reverse this type of information the researchers did have some suggestions to help mitigate the strength of these false messages. They counsel people to offer alternative facts to replace the false information.
Just pointing out the falsehood could cause people to defend the lie further. Keep the focus on the facts that are in question not the myths. As with most effective communication, keep the alternative message brief and simple and lastly, repeat the new message often to strengthen its power.
- Cyndi
False information that is disseminated to the public is very hard to undo. In fact, the attempt to undo the message often results in a greater adherence to the original false statement. Examples of these false facts are: President Obama was not born in the U.S. or global warming is a myth.
Once people hear this type of misinformation, and depending upon their pre-existing views on such things as religion, politics, or personal worldview; they are likely to accept the deception as truth, particularly if it is in line with their way of thinking.
The researchers noted that this phenomenon is particularly unsettling in a democracy where people base decisions on information that at some level they know to be untrue.
Some misinformation is designed to scare people away from certain behaviors, such as getting vaccines or buying certain products. Of course politics is loaded with this type of communication and people definitely tend to get behind their own candidates lies and even start to genuinely believe them despite what the busy fact checkers have to say.
While it is extremely difficult to reverse this type of information the researchers did have some suggestions to help mitigate the strength of these false messages. They counsel people to offer alternative facts to replace the false information.
Just pointing out the falsehood could cause people to defend the lie further. Keep the focus on the facts that are in question not the myths. As with most effective communication, keep the alternative message brief and simple and lastly, repeat the new message often to strengthen its power.
- Cyndi
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But truth may go against what people want to believe, it may stick in their throats. So they spit it up and swallow lies instead. Our whole country is being seduced by propaganda here in the US.
Refraining from adding table salt to foods is a good health practice for those living in the United States.
True or False:
Some areas which are inland or at high elevations have very little iodine in the soil, so foods grown there also provide hardly any iodine.
True or False:
Canned and Packaged goods usually have a high amount of iodized salt.
True or False:
In some parts of the world, iodine deficiency is common, but the addition of iodine to table salt has virtually eliminated this problem in the United States.
1. Primacy - things learned first are learned best
2. Intensity - things with impact are best learned and least forgotten
3. Effect - things learned that cause a change leave an indelible imprint in our minds
4. Recency - things learned most recently have the greatest impact that will subside with time.
5. Readiness - things learned when a person is ready to accept new information will be better integrated in the mind
6. Experience - things learned and reinforced will be retained
So many things, like religion, carry most if not all of these parameters in their presentation.
If these things are false, then yes...they will be nearly impossible to unlearn.