Facts alone may not be enough to overcome misinformation, a recent study shows.
In an experiment, 152 college students who had been exposed to misinformation read one of two articles designed to provide them with accurate, science-backed information.
Those who read an informative article that contained “just the facts” retained more misconceptions than those who read a counter-narrative—meaning that it directly identified the false statements before presenting them. facts.
Education about Journal of Research in Science Teaching adds to the evidence that the countermeasure can be a better way to combat misinformation than traditional methods of communicating science.
Lead author Robert Danielson, a psychology researcher at Washington State University, says: “Resistance strategies seem to work very well.
“Although it is always good to stand out as a teacher or a communicator, students have smartphones. They will quickly encounter the wrong information. If we adopt this attitude of denial, we can overcome negative information. ”
For this study, researchers first tested what school participants knew about adding fluoride to water. Next, students read two articles: one with false information that fluoridation is dangerous and the other with a scientific consensus that found fluoridation to be safe and prevent dental disease. All participants read the same misinformation text, but different groups read a text containing correct information either in the classic “just the facts” format or countering the misinformation.
The study also tested the effects of having participants read the correct text before, or after, the incorrect information.
A post-test revealed that students were still learning under all four conditions—but the worst-performing group saw the false information first, followed by “Just the facts” type of writing. Those who had read the countering article before, or after, the negative news had less negative opinions. They were also more positive about it.
With so much information readily available online, it can be difficult for many people to sort the truth from the lies. This can cause a problem that researchers call “conceptual contamination” – when learning the wrong information interferes with learning the right information.
“Your mind does not discriminate. “Whether it’s positive or negative, it just takes it all,” Danielson says. “People can easily learn wrong ideas, and there’s no shortage of them on the Internet.”
Educational researchers like Danielson are looking for ways to teach science that cut through the noise of misinformation. This study and others show that the resistance method is promising.
The researchers chose fluoridation for this experiment because it is less politically charged than other scientific topics such as climate change or evolution. However, Danielson and his colleagues recently conducted a meta-analysis published in the journal Educational psychologist of 76 other academic subjects. They’ve found the defiance method works well for a wide range of topics from the most controversial of physics and chemistry to the most controversial, including climate change and evolution as well as genetically modified foods. through genetics and vaccines.
“Some misconceptions can be almost innocent, like a child thinking that chocolate milk comes from brown cows,” says Danielson.
But for some things, like serious misconceptions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, there can be serious consequences, not only for you, but for future generations.
Source: Washington State University
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