Backfire effects occur only under contextual triggers, not as a default state

Evidence

What’s important to know is that in the seminal studies, these effects were often confined to those individuals who held the strongest or most extreme beliefs on an issue – and that’s probably right. But they don’t describe the average individual in an average situation. It’s not our default state. There often needs to be some contextual trigger that decreases people’s motivation to be accurate and increases their motivation to belong, affiliate, and prioritize political commitments. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 138

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The backfire effect does not occur symmetrically across the political spectrum — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 109; Backfire effects occur only among extreme believers in triggering contexts — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 138

Broader Connections

• The backfire effect does not occur symmetrically across the political spectrum #qualifies (0.75) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 109