People often resist or reverse belief updating rather than tracking evidence

Evidence

It turns out, though, that in many instances people seem to be doing the complete opposite of what the good reverend Thomas Bayes would have predicted: instead of updating toward the evidence, people either do not update their beliefs, or actually update away from the evidence. The ‘post-truth’ era has fundamentally challenged the notion that the brain is fully Bayesian, or the ultimate fact-checker for that matter. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 104

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to motivated reasoning and confirmation bias literatures, and to later chapters of this very book on inoculation and misinformation. — 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; Computer-Antichrist rumors grew so common even believers later repudiated them — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 259 (+28 more)

Broader Connections

• People resist updating beliefs even at the cost of accuracy #corroborates (1.00)
• People often distort evidence to fit preexisting worldviews rather than updating beliefs #corroborates (1.00) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 108
• Directionally motivated reasoning makes people reject disconfirming evidence and seek explanations for it. #corroborates (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 166
• Even disconfirmation evidence often fails to break a person’s confirmation bias #exemplifies (0.92) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 94
• Belief systems respond to contrary evidence by discounting the evidence #corroborates (0.90)
• People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety #corroborates (0.85) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229
• Confirmation bias and inertia make reputations resistant to disconfirming evidence #corroborates (0.85)
• People preferentially seek confirming evidence and avoid testing their own hypotheses. #corroborates (0.80) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 93
• Disagreement over evidence can stem from accuracy motives or identity motives #qualifies (0.78) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 140
• Gruesome evidence can backfire because people avoid thinking about it #exemplifies (0.75) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3221
• Conspiracist validation replaces evidence with communal repetition and affirmation. #corroborates (0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 303
• Repetition within echo chambers, not evidence, produces conspiracist assent #corroborates (0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 129
• Maintaining a stereotype against deviant evidence requires attentional resources people willingly spend #qualifies (0.72) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1178
• Correcting misinformation may be ineffective because people continue using it #qualifies (0.72) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 249