Correcting false beliefs can strengthen them rather than reduce them
Evidence
Backfire effectPsychological phenomenon where the presentation of true information that conflicts with someone’s mistaken beliefs causes them to hold those beliefs even more strongly. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 350
Categorization
- DEFINE: Concise definition of backfire effect, the counterintuitive finding that corrections can reinforce error.
- XREF: connects to: Disconfirming evidence can strengthen rather than weaken committed beliefs. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 97; Motivated reasoning makes people reject information threatening their values and beliefs. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 89; Inoculation theory aims to prevent false beliefs before exposure rather than correct them after — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 30 (+14 more)
Broader Connections
- Correcting conspiracy misinformation can backfire and entrench the false belief.
#exemplifies(0.95) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 119 - Criticizing a comforting false belief can harm more than it helps
#corroborates(0.92) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 261 - Cognitive dissonance strengthens rather than weakens false beliefs under contrary evidence
#corroborates(0.85) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1798