Reducing existing prejudice requires countering confirmation-biased information processing

Evidence

Psychologists now realize that to change an already-existing attitude requires overcoming a stubborn obstacle, namely the tendency to dismiss contradictory attitudes and attend only to evidence confirming the existing attitude. While greater success has been achieved in reducing prejudice through cooperative intergroup contact (see Pettigrew & Tropp, ch. 16 this volume; Kenworthy, Turner, Hewstone, & Voci, ch. 17 this volume), where this is not feasible, the combined elements of several theories may be needed to bring about change. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1994

Categorization

• XREF: Confirmation bias blocking attitude change connects to work on motivated reasoning and the backfire effect in political psychology. — connects to: Cognitive bias plus curated information feeds industrial post-truth vulnerability — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 122; The internet lets like-minded communities confirm prejudices instead of confronting difference — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No…, 158