Tom (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} stark0228) wrote,@ 2008-09-16 11:21:00 |
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The Backfire Effect
Interesting article. Two political scientists gave two politically similar groups (such as both conservative or both liberal) a statement they were inclined to believe and then one group was given information that refuted that statement.
As a group, liberals tended to ignore the refutations that ran counter to their beliefs. So, the percentage that believed the original statement was similar in both groups.
As a group, conservatives who heard the refutations were MORE likely to believe the original statement than the group that didn't (by a significant margin).
The theories about why this happens are interesting.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2
A Q&A with the authors of the paper: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co
Interesting article. Two political scientists gave two politically similar groups (such as both conservative or both liberal) a statement they were inclined to believe and then one group was given information that refuted that statement.
As a group, liberals tended to ignore the refutations that ran counter to their beliefs. So, the percentage that believed the original statement was similar in both groups.
As a group, conservatives who heard the refutations were MORE likely to believe the original statement than the group that didn't (by a significant margin).
The theories about why this happens are interesting.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2
A Q&A with the authors of the paper: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co
