Neuroscientist Explains Why It's So Hard To Change Anyone's Mind Once They've Heard Something Online — Even When They Know It's False
She emphasized how much our algorithms feed us certain information just to capture our attention and why it's important to break that cycle.
Dean Drobot | Canva Pro It's become a universal experience to have family members or friends believe misinformation they see online as the truth, even when there are countless reliable sources that can easily dispute it. It can feel exhausting to go back and forth with a person who will not see outside of their own narrow beliefs, especially when the source of their knowledge is false.
However, a neuroscientist named Dr. Rachel Barr pointed out that there may be a logical explanation for why it's hard to change a person's mind about the things they've seen on the internet.
In a TikTok video, Barr provided the perfect breakdown of how our algorithms can affect our brains and the kind of information we process.
A neuroscientist explained why it's so hard to change anyone's mind once they've heard something online, even when they see proof that it's false.
"Why is it so difficult to change somebody's mind after they've been exposed to online misinformation? You're asking the right girl because I'm Rachel the neuroscientist," Barr began in her video.
She explained that nothing quite captivates human attention more than fear, rage, shame, loneliness, and the algorithms that dominate our phones on various social media apps. It's no secret that algorithms are extremely personalized based on the type of content that a user engages with, and it quickly learns what captivates the attention of a person.
"We scroll, which makes us feel bad, which makes us scroll even more, which makes us feel even worse," Barr continued. "This is where the trap really captures us. The more that you're feeling things like fear and shame, the more that you and your brain consciously and not will be working to build a narrative around that."
Barr likened it to human beings existing in the wild. Our fears, in the most primal sense, would be associated with running away from tigers and other dangerous wildlife. We don't have those fears now, but our fight-or-flight response remains rooted in those instinctual responses. So, when we're scrolling on our phones and feeling fear, our brain is attempting to justify the emotions that are being used against us by the algorithm.
"Those justifications are not trivial; they are fundamental shifts in world views, fundamental shifts in the sense of identity. Reversing those justifications and changes is very difficult even if you can, and you can change somebody's mind at a factual level, that initial emotional residue tends to stick around."
The neuroscientist pointed out that it's not a self-control issue or something that people can easily avoid.
She emphasized that this "emotional residue" tends to stick around, no matter how much information they're engaging with that disproves their opinion, including which causes they advocate for and who they vote for. Barr went on to explain in a follow-up video if self-control is a viable enough option for someone to protect themselves against online misinformation.
The short answer, Barr explained, was no. She pointed out that multiple studies have concluded that it does help to be aware of cognitive biases and filter out information that doesn't already align with what we may personally believe and follow. "Yes, knowing about these cognitive biases does marginally reduce their power to control your behavior and worldview."
Barr continued, "But less than you think. The real power comes from actively changing your behavior. So you might think that you can scroll through social media and control what you integrate and what you discard. We tend to forget the brain is sneaking about backstage, doing its own thing."
As much as we try, our brains are constantly influencing our thoughts and behaviors that are sometimes not within our control or even under our awareness. That's why Barr stressed the importance of actively spending less time exposing yourself to that stimulus. You have to actively seek out information that opposes your beliefs so that you have a well-rounded view of issues.
A study paid viewers to switch the news channel they were receiving information from and found surprising results.
Barr's insistence that we should always be looking outside of our own views and beliefs lines up interestingly enough with a 2022 study where Fox News viewers were paid to watch CNN for an entire month.
Given the steady stream of misinformation that ends up on Fox News, many of the consumers, who are mostly elderly, white Trump supporters, often get written off as hopeless by Democrats and progressives.
Which is why two political scientists paid a group of regular Fox News viewers to instead watch CNN for a month. At the end of the period, the researchers found surprising results; some of the Fox News watchers had changed their minds on a range of key issues, including the U.S. response to the pandemic and Democrats’ attitude toward police.
The findings from the study proved that not only can political perspectives change but that our consumption of media can really influence our ideologies as well.
"I think the most surprising finding is that shifting people’s media diets from Fox News to CNN for a month had any effect," Joshua Kalla, one of the political scientists, told the Guardian. "People who watch cable news tend to be very politically engaged and have strong opinions about politics, limiting the impact of the media. Similarly, they also tend to be strong partisans who might not trust any source not associated with their party."
We should always be encouraging people who are prone to believing misinformation to look at alternate views for a more balanced view of issues. More often than not, there are studies, research, and reputable sources that have debunked many of the things that people think are true.
Whether they're a Fox News watcher or an avid scroller on Twitter and TikTok, diversifying their media intake will always lead to a broader understanding of the world.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.