Self-affirmation weakly aids acceptance of corrective facts, but graphics outperform narratives

Evidence

This strategy, however, should be implemented carefully. Psychological research has also shown that when people feel insecure and threatened they are less likely to listen. In a recent study by Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler, subjects were given a self-affirmation exercise, then exposed to new information. It was hypothesized that people who felt better about themselves might be more open to accepting information that corrected their misperceptions. The researchers found a weak correlation, but it was not consistent; it worked on some topics but not others. Another finding from the same study was more robust: information provided in graphical form was more convincing than narratives. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 329

Categorization

• QUESTION: What exactly counts as ‘graphical form’ here, and does the effect replicate? Worth chasing the original Nyhan-Reifler study.
• XREF: Connects to motivated reasoning and confirmation-bias research on why threatening facts get rejected. — connects to: Unthreatened self-affirmation reduces derogation of stigmatized groups.; Memory benefits from narrative, logical structure rather than disjointed facts — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4586; Ads pairing familiar elements oddly work by evoking meaning affirmation, not just recall. — Travis Proulx, Steven J. Heine, and Kathleen D. Vohs, When Is the Unfamiliar the Uncanny?…, 14

Broader Connections

• Unthreatened self-affirmation reduces derogation of stigmatized groups. #expands (0.85)
• Memory benefits from narrative, logical structure rather than disjointed facts #corroborates (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4586