← all facts
belief
You hold onto opinions even after being disproven.
A 1975 study showed that once an initial belief is formed, it remains influential even after the evidence supporting it is discredited.
Participants were shown fake suicide notes and told they were real; even after researchers explained the notes were entirely fabricated, participants continued to rate their own performance based on the false information they had received. The belief persisted despite the removal of its foundation.
Your brain prefers a false explanation to no explanation at all.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Ross, Lepper, and Hubbard, 1975, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- What the check found
- The study is a classic in psychology and the description is accurate, though the provided reference material did not contain the specific paper to quote.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.