Know your facts, but know that facts aren t everything
A 2010 study found that trying to correct someone s perception can have a “backfire effect.” When you encounter facts that don’t support your belief, it actually grows stronger.
It s often an uphill battle to convince someone that a deeply held view is flawed. Human beings are hard-wired for bias. If you’re a new mom who believes vaccines cause autism, do you look for research that shows whether they actually do, or do you Google “vaccines cause autism” to find stories to affirm your belief? Likely the latter, which is driven by “motivated reasoning, our psychological tendency to perpetuate our own beliefs and dismiss anything that runs against our own views.
How to persuade someone to take the COVID-19 vaccine Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY
President-elect Joe Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine, urges Americans to do the same
Replay Video
The vaccines are coming. Now, how many Americans will actually get them?
It s a looming question, perhaps the most important one as the coronavirus continues to surge in the U.S. Medical experts say vaccine-induced herd immunity when enough people are immune that the virus will find it difficult to spread is the best way to end the pandemic.
Overall, 60% of Americans say they would definitely or probably get the vaccine if one were available today, according to a Pew Research Center survey this month, up from 51% who said so in September. Nearly 40% said they definitely or probably would not get a coronavirus vaccine, though about half of this group – about 18% of U.S. adults – say they could change their minds.