It's imperative that a democratic society base its decisions on accurate information. However, on many issues, particularly when vested interests are concerned, misinformation abounds. The challenge for communicators is that the influence of misinformation is extremely difficult to remove, even after people are informed and understand that it's incorrect. Refutation can even lead to the reinforcing of misinformation in people's minds due to number of "backfire effect" cognitive processes. This is particularly problematic when dealing with erroneous beliefs relating to people's worldviews and sense of identity, such as climate change.
Consequently, understanding of the cognitive processes involved in removing the influence of erroneous beliefs is crucial to successful rebuttal.
John Cook, author and creator of the Skeptical Science website, discussed the various "backfire effects" that can cause increased polarization of views and outlines the key elements to a rebuttal that effectively reduces the influence of misinformation. He presented debunkings of popular climate myths as practical examples.
For more information on the Global Change Institute and their work go to the GCI website.
The presentation was followed by a discussion where comments and questions from attendees were welcomed.
Click here to view the video of the event. Download a copy of John's power point presentation here.
For more information see the attached flyer.