Down The Rabbit Hole … part 6 - Back to Reality?
So is there any escape from the rabbit hole of reality denial?
Studies suggest that conspiratorial thinking can be countered, but not by debating the facts or by appealing to emotion. A better approach is “inoculation”; warning people of conspiracy theories before they come across them, with fact-based counter arguments. Prevention is better, and much easier, than cure in this case.
Another tactic is to encourage analytical and critical thinking, particularly looking at distinguishing science from pseudoscience and understanding common human mistakes of perception and logic. The author of the popular blog The Logic of Science, a PhD biologist, describes how he grew up as a Creationist, impervious to facts, only to have his eyes opened when he took a philosophy course and learned critical thinking skills.
“ I distinctly remember sitting in my dorm room feeling simultaneously empowered by the logical tools that I was being given and horrified by how gullible I had been.”
Instead of trying to convince them that they are wrong, try to get them to think critically…
An interesting question is “What would it take to convince you that you were wrong?” … Very often the response will be that nothing could possibly convince them that they were wrong. They will state this with pride, not realising that they are betraying the fact that their position is unscientific because it is not falsifiable. It is nothing more than blind faith.
Denialists like to think of themselves as being scientifically minded. In this instance, science and faith are mutually exclusive.
Another interesting question is “How do we decide what is a reliable source of information?” … It is entertaining to discover how often people will believe what a celebrity tells them rather than an expert in the field.
Denialists like to think of themselves as sceptics. Can they be persuaded to be *more sceptical than they are already, and question the quality of their sources?
A strategy called “decoding the myth of conspiracy theory” seeks to educate people not about the content of individual notions but the processes by which people become convinced of their validity. Basically, the more people understand exactly what a conspiracy theory is, how it works, the logical and psychological aspects, etc., the more insight they gain into their own assumptions and biases.
Another strategy called “Reimagining intergroup relations” focuses on debunking misconceptions about groups of people who are not like yourself. We often have stereotypical ideas about groups that we are not familiar with (particularly minorities; political, ethnic, sexual, etc.) and these fallacies can often blossom into negative delusions. For example: the idea that Muslims get upset when they hear people say “Merry Christmas” can be put to rest by showing examples of Muslims very happily attending Christmas parties or dinners with friends and workmates.
These less direct methods have shown some success, more so than heated debates over facts, and much more so than mocking the denialist for their beliefs. It can be very challenging for the rational person – often confronted with an individual who labels her as a “sheep” or a “shill” (or Satan) for sticking to a realistic worldview – but attempting to politely enlighten the other person is more likely to be productive in the long run.
The good news is that the problem is *not getting worse. Research by Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist at the University of Miami, found no evidence that conspiracy beliefs are growing, despite their visibility on social media. A vocal minority gives the impression of a growing swell of “free thinkers” but what we are actually seeing is an existing number of denialists emboldening each other to come out of the woodwork.
There is hope. The ranting denialist urging you to “Wake up!” can, indeed, with a little patience and luck, open his eyes and emerge from his Wonderland dream of delusion and see the real world.
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Notes:
Putting people into an analytic mindset and explicitly teaching them how to evaluate information appears most protective against conspiracy rabbit holes.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-you-fight-conspiracy-theories/
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Beliefs in conspiracy theories are especially likely to emerge when adopting such beliefs satisfies psychological needs for order, certainty, or control (e.g., Crocker et al., 1999; Kay et al., 2008; Kramer, 1994; Sullivan et al., 2010; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008).
If one upholds a strong ingroup identity, it may increase the perceiver's sensemaking motivation when they believe their group is under threat by outside forces, thus increasing endorsement of conspiracy theories (van Prooijen & Douglas, 2018).
….
― Countering conspiracy theory beliefs: Understanding the conjunction fallacy and considering disconfirming evidence - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.3998
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Facing disinformation: Five methods to counter conspiracy theories amid the Covid-19 pandemic - https://www.revistacomunicar.com/html/69/en/69-2021-06.html
(Conspiracy mentality and political orientation across 26 countries, Roland Imhoff et. al.)
Expert credibility in climate change
William R. L. Anderegg,a,1 James W. Prall,b Jacob Harold,c and Stephen H. Schneidera,d,1
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901439/
Climate change: How do we know it is happening and caused by humans? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58954530
CO2 from fossil fuels discerned from natural sources
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17784055
How the oil industry made us doubt climate change
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-53640382
BBC: The audacious PR plot that seeded doubt about climate change -https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62225696
Brazil could have stopped 400,000 Covid deaths with better response, expert says - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/29/brazil-coronavirus-deaths-jair-bolsonaro
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