If you’ve ever had a discussion about something controversial – politics, religion, life/death – you’ll often find that there is never really any progress made on either side of the argument. That’s usually because each side has a deeply rooted emotional belief in their viewpoint and they don’t change their mind to arguments of logic and reason. Weirdly enough, the only facts they listen to are the that support their original viewpoint.
Here is an article discussing that issue. If you’ve followed Tversky and Kahneman, you’ll be familiar with some of the ideas.
Link: How We Support Our False Beliefs
Also, here’s an extended discussion based on the article but using it to discuss topics in medicine. Interesting read.
Link: “There must be a reason,” or how we support our own false beliefs
Tags: decision making, emotion, fact, groups