The Impact of Authority on Beliefs and Autonomy

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The suggestion that any authority figure can see the truth for you can trigger reactance, which is the pushback against perceived threats to one's agency and individuality. People may respond poorly when experts try to impose beliefs that contradict their assumptions, values, beliefs, or social identities.

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