In spite of the cognitive biases and brain biology that make it hard to change minds, there are ways to short-circuit these natural habits. You can train yourself to keep an open mind The desire to be right combined with the brain’s protective mechanisms make it that much harder to change opinions and beliefs, even in the presence of new information. Once you’re in that mindset, it’s hard to hear another viewpoint. In the context of communication, people tend to raise their voice, push back and stop listening when these chemicals are coursing through their bodies. Your brain’s amygdala becomes more active, which controls your innate fight-or-flight reaction when you feel under threat. It can hijack your advanced thought processes, reason and logic – what psychologists call the executive functions of your brain. Moreover, in situations of high stress or distrust, your body releases another hormone, cortisol. It’s a feeling many people want to have more often. That rush makes you feel good, maybe even invulnerable. In your brain, they contribute to the feeling of pleasure you get during sex, eating, roller-coaster rides – and yes, winning an argument. Winning a debate or an argument triggers a flood of hormones, including dopamine and adrenaline. Your brain is hard-wired to protect you – which can lead to reinforcing your opinions and beliefs, even when they’re misguided. It can feel really satisfying to get the better of an opponent, even if you’re not actually right. Some of the basic ways your brain works can also work against you on this front. Brain’s hard-wiring doesn’t helpĬognitive biases are predictable patterns in the way people think that can keep you from objectively weighing evidence and changing your mind. The election outcome changed survey respondents’ interpretation of how the economy was doing – a confirmation bias led Republicans to rate it much higher now that their guy would be in charge Democrats the opposite. What had changed was that a new political leader from a different party had been elected. In just one two-week period spanning the 2016 election, both Republicans and Democrats drastically changed their opinions about the state of the economy – in opposite directions.īut nothing was new with the economy. The problem with confirmation bias is that it can lead to errors in judgment because it keeps you from looking at a situation objectively from multiple angles.Ī 2016 Gallup poll provides a great example of this bias. Interacting with like-minded people and media reinforces confirmation bias. It’s the natural tendency to seek out information or interpret things in a way that supports your existing beliefs. There’s another cognitive bias that can get in the way of changing your mind, called confirmation bias. Researchers have identified this phenomenon in a number of studies, including ones about opinions toward climate change mitigation policies and attitudes toward childhood vaccinations. It can feel like an attack on you if one of your strongly held beliefs is challenged.Ĭonfronting facts that don’t line up with your worldview may trigger a “ backfire effect,” which can end up strengthening your original position and beliefs, particularly with politically charged issues. This reaction is particularly strong when the beliefs in question are aligned with your political and personal identities. Everyone can fall prey to this ingrained way of thinking.īeing presented with facts – whether via the news, social media or one-on-one conversations – that suggest their current beliefs are wrong causes people to feel threatened. Psychologists call this phenomenon belief perseverance. Instead of reevaluating what they’ve believed up until now, people tend to reject the incompatible evidence. Partly to blame is a cognitive bias that can kick in when people encounter evidence that runs counter to their beliefs. But that’s generally not how things go in the real world. In an ideal world, rational people who encounter new evidence that contradicts their beliefs would evaluate the facts and change their views accordingly. Here’s some of the research that explains why it’s natural to resist changing your mind – and how you can get better at making these shifts. For many people, a challenge to their worldview feels like an attack on their personal identity and can cause them to harden their position.
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