Declining Trust and the Importance of Seeking Information

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This chapter explores the declining trust in institutions in the US, the relationship between skepticism and the internet, and the importance of individuals conducting their own research to navigate the information landscape.

Sedona Chinn, who studies how people make sense of competing scientific, environmental, and health-related claims, joins us to discuss her latest research into doing your own research. In her latest paper she found that the more a person values the concept of doing your own research, the less likely that person is to actually do their own research. In the episode we explore the origin of the concept, what that phrase really means, and the implications of her study on everything from politics to vaccines to conspiratorial thinking.

Sedona Chinn's Website

Sedona Chinn's Twitter

Sedona Chinn's Paper

The Other Paper Mentioned

How Minds Change

David McRaney’s Twitter