Persistance of myths

[Tale]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...d=moreheadlines

 

Persistence of Myths Could Alter Public Policy Approach

 

By Shankar Vedantam

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 4, 2007; Page A03

 

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a flier to combat myths about the flu vaccine. It recited various commonly held views and labeled them either "true" or "false." Among those identified as false were statements such as "The side effects are worse than the flu" and "Only older people need flu vaccine."

 

When University of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz had volunteers read the CDC flier, however, he found that within 30 minutes, older people misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, they remembered 40 percent of the myths as factual.

 

Younger people did better at first, but three days later they made as many errors as older people did after 30 minutes. Most troubling was that people of all ages now felt that the source of their false beliefs was the respected CDC.

 

Read more at the link.

 

 

The implications of this are astounding should they hold up to repeated testing. It's always interesting to learn more about memory formation and information processing. Most especially when it relates to seeming flaws in these processes that can result in faulty recall. And it invites some particular new questions. Obviously it needs to be tested to see in what situations it is true. States of arousal, repeated exposure, etc.

 

Though, I think it's kind of shoddy that the article turns around to 9/11 and Iraq. Sure, those are hot button examples to throw around, but surely they could have come up with something a little less politically charged.

Edited September 5, 2007 by Tale

[Blarghagh]

That's pretty interesting, but I suspect that a lot of that research was partly incorrect and/or biased. For example, "The side effects are worse than the flu" is a subjective opinion. To some people, having the flu is worse. To me, it's preferable to barely being able to move my arm for two weeks. If someone told me that was a false myth, I'd tell them they were wrong and continue saying it.

 

(An interesting tidbit about my experience with the flu vaccin: every year I don't get it, I'm flu free. Every year I DO get it, I also get the flu, usually more than once.)

[Tale]

That's pretty interesting, but I suspect that a lot of that research was partly incorrect and/or biased. For example, "The side effects are worse than the flu" is a subjective opinion. To some people, having the flu is worse. To me, it's preferable to barely being able to move my arm for two weeks. If someone told me that was a false myth, I'd tell them they were wrong and continue saying it.

 

(An interesting tidbit about my experience with the flu vaccin: every year I don't get it, I'm flu free. Every year I DO get it, I also get the flu, usually more than once.)

Which is all beside hte point as the studies were over retention of the information, not whether or not people agreed. If the scenario you're putting forth were accurate, it would have been consistent with immediacy effect as well as long term. Additionally people would not be attributing the soure of their position to the CDC if it were a matter of disagreement.

[theslug]

It's obvious that the government has put something in the water and everyone is having problems with encoding information into their brain mainframes. I for one am like this. Someone can tell me there name and 10 seconds later I have already blissfully forgotten about it. Pretty horrible. Not to mention I'm forgetting things I should know constantly. For example I'll try to think of something that I used to know quite well or a synonym for a word and just come up short. Also I can't concentrate like I used to. I think I have a brain tumor.

[Arkan]

It's obvious that the government has put something in the water and everyone is having problems with encoding information into their brain mainframes. I for one am like this. Someone can tell me there name and 10 seconds later I have already blissfully forgotten about it. Pretty horrible. Not to mention I'm forgetting things I should know constantly. For example I'll try to think of something that I used to know quite well or a synonym for a word and just come up short. Also I can't concentrate like I used to. I think I have a brain tumor.

 

You have ADD

[Walsingham]

That certainly is interesting. What that tells me is that ad campaigns should simply use 'surveys'.

 

As for the vaccine being worse than the flu in my experience that's nonsense. I've had negative reactions to typhoid and japanese encephalitis shots, and had proper influenza (the stuff that killed 19 million after the Great War), and actual typhoid. Both the real things were bloody awful. I can't speak for the jap enceph. I hallucinated small children.

[taks]

typhoid walshy?

 

taks

[Gfted1]

Man, they gave us a ton of crazy shot while in the Navy. Being deployed aboard a carrier in the Pacific I got to go to lots of places and they innoculated us to the gills.

 

Since I got out in '96 I havent had any shots at all and Ive not gotten sick.

Edited September 7, 2007 by Gfted1

[Colrom]

I thought everyone knew that the assertion is more memorable than the evaluation.

 

Suppose someone suggests that Mark has Arabic connections.

 

Perhaps this isn't true, but now the idea is out there.

 

We can't delete the idea.

 

We can only deny it.

 

Perhaps if we make the denial more interesting than the original idea we may be able to complicate the claim, but we will never be able to eliminate it.

 

Suppose we identify the source of the false claim and make a deal about him?

 

That might help.

 

Fred is a lying scum who slanders people.

 

And then we add some nice stuff about Mark.

 

Mark is a great guy who has only Western friends.

 

Maybe that's the best.

 

One drop of ink in glass of clear water and the water colored. Add a drop of red ink and the water is colored differently.

 

Removing the color is much more difficult.

Edited September 7, 2007 by Colrom

[Colrom]

Even more interesting to me is when the "myth" is not a "what" but a "how".

 

Take the case where we are told that most folks don't think killing a bank teller and robbing the bank is worth it but many think that cheating on their income tax is worth it. Poll results show this clearly.

 

We have begun to establish not a what - but a how - how we are to evaluate the goodness of an action - by whether it is "worth it".

 

In the earlier example I suggested that how we evaluate the contamination of water is by looking at it. So now I can offer you crystal clear water and blue colored water and you will be likely to judge the crystal clear water as uncontaminated. After all, no one has suggested otherwise up till just this moment. But now your suspicions are aroused. You may wonder whether the water has been altered so that it is clear but perhaps contaminated with something non the less. Yes. It is contaminated with tasty flavoring. Clears is definitely a good tasting experience. But steer away from blue - and red.

 

Heh.

 

Anyway this is why I try to avoid watching corrupt TV programming like FOX News or some reality shows. Also tend to I notice when advertisers have their subjects steal something from someone else - or ridicule someone else - or make someone else literally disappear

 

Coke has a series of ads doing this now. For example - guy at work looks through the refrigerator, and finds a case of Diet Coke marked with a sticky note "Marie". The song playing is "Oh Marie"! He is torn, but he steals one anyway and the song changes to use his name Sammy instead. The theme of the Coke series is "yours" which appears at the end in the lower right corner of the screen. Amost all involve theft of somebody elses coke. To my mind this fits with Cokes moral bankruptcy very well. They have been working on a campaign to dupe consumers into accepting their previous 2 liter pricing on a new bottle which is 1.5 liters which they position at the same place on the shelves as they used to position the 2 liter bottles. The 2 liter bottles are moved to another somewhat less convenient location and the price is way up there.

 

The "ring around the collar" Wisk detergent ads made annoying people literally disappear. That was clever.

 

I'm babbling.

 

It's a great topic but huge!

 

Corrupt programming contaminates your thinking and maybe your morality.

Edited September 8, 2007 by Colrom

[Oerwinde]

The one major thing I've heard about the flu vaccine is that once you get it, you have to keep getting it every year because otherwise it reduces your immune system's ability to fight off the flu without it. Is this true or false?

[Walsingham]

typhoid walshy?

 

taks

 

Awful stuff. Nearly died. Terrible wracking cramps. Sang almost constantly to fight off the cramps. My singing also very bad.

[Blarghagh]

Singing reduces cramps? Awesome.

[taks]

Suppose someone suggests that Mark has Arabic connections.

you bastard!

 

Perhaps this isn't true, but now the idea is out there.

what will my friends think... i'm friends with arabs. i'll never live it down.

 

And then we add some nice stuff about Mark.

 

Mark is a great guy who has only Western friends.

you already slandered me... i'm not falling for this. no way. i'll never live this down, you've totally ruined my otherwise pristine reputation.

 

mark

 

Edited September 8, 2007 by taks

[Colrom]

[Walsingham]

Singing reduces cramps? Awesome.

 

To be perfectly noest I was running a pretty high fever, and I may have just imagined it was helping. It certainly ensured I got triaged and treated quickly!