Genuine belief change is possible and rare, centered on an initial crack of doubt
Evidence
So what can we learn from the biographies presented? The good news is certainly, first of all, that a change of mind is possible. It is rare, but it does happen again and again that people turn away from prejudices and turn to scientific facts, even if they have already made important decisions based on their belief and this belief is part of their self-image or even the source of their livelihood. It is striking, however, that all of the individuals considered here were still relatively young at the time of their transformation, in any case still in the first half of an average life span. The transformation processes were often painful, full of doubts and inner, sometimes also outer conflicts, and they sometimes dragged on for years. In most cases, for very different reasons, a crack appeared in the system of faith, and it was in coming to terms with this initial doubt that the actual transformation took place. — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 214
Categorization
- SEED: The ‘crack in the belief system’ model offers a concrete, cite-able mechanism for why so many persuasion efforts fail — a potential angle for an essay on real-world belief change.
- XREF: Relates to the ‘crack’ onset model and the finding that transformation happened in youth, echoing learning-theory ideas about identity formation. — connects to: Independent testimonies agreeing closely can convert a skeptic into a believer — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age: How False…, 11; Real knowledge rests on active doubt rather than certainty — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 272
Related
- People change their own minds; persuasion attempts play a small role (similarity 0.83)
- Changing someone’s mind is inherently difficult because it requires changing one’s own mind (similarity 0.82)
- Former believers are uniquely valuable sources on how worldviews actually change (similarity 0.79)
- Belief change begins inside the believer before outside conversations matter (similarity 0.79)