America has a misinformation problem. It's in our news feeds, on our social media timelines, and at our kitchen tables. It's driving wedges between friends and family - and sharp political divides.
UC San Francisco Psychiatry Professor Joseph Pierre, MD , has spent decades working with patients with delusions and mental illness, while also writing about delusion-like beliefs held by otherwise healthy people. In his new book, False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things that Aren't True. Pierre reveals how many of us are more susceptible than we think to false beliefs. We wanted to find out why - and ask the million-dollar question: What should you do when a loved one falls for misinformation?
What drove you to write a book about false beliefs now?
Occasionally, you'll see headlines like, "America is Suffering from Mass Delusion," or likening some people to "cult members" based on political beliefs. Popular portrayals of those who believe misinformation often imply there's something wrong with the individual: They're mentally ill, they're stupid, they're "brainwashed."
In my book, I emphasize that it's not just individual factors that are to blame for false beliefs. It's the world we live in today. It's the way we interact with information.
How do cognitive "quirks" or biases set us up to believe false information?
Broadly, cognitive biases are automatic unconscious types of thinking that tend to result in beliefs that conflict with reality. There are hundreds of cognitive biases, but I like to emphasize two related concepts: confirmation bias and, although not technically a cognitive bias, motivated reasoning.
Confirmation bias describes our tendency to select information that confirms our existing beliefs. Conversely, when we encounter information that contradicts what we want to believe, we tend to swipe past it and ignore it.
The related process of motivated reasoning happens when we engage with information and - based on our ideological or group affiliations - we trust information sources that support our ideological views and discount those that don't.
