Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion

While they usually should, people do not revise their beliefs more to expert (economist) opinion than to lay opinion. The present research sought to better understand the factors that make it more likely for an individual to change their mind when faced with the opinions of expert economists versus...

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Main Authors: Ethan A. Meyers, Martin H. Turpin, Michał Białek, Jonathan A. Fugelsang, Derek J. Koehler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2020-11-01
Series:Judgment and Decision Making
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.sjdm.org/20/200615a/jdm200615a.pdf
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author Ethan A. Meyers
Martin H. Turpin
Michał Białek
Jonathan A. Fugelsang
Derek J. Koehler
author_facet Ethan A. Meyers
Martin H. Turpin
Michał Białek
Jonathan A. Fugelsang
Derek J. Koehler
author_sort Ethan A. Meyers
collection DOAJ
description While they usually should, people do not revise their beliefs more to expert (economist) opinion than to lay opinion. The present research sought to better understand the factors that make it more likely for an individual to change their mind when faced with the opinions of expert economists versus the general public. Across five studies we examined the role that overestimation of knowledge plays in this behavior. We replicated the finding that people fail to privilege the opinion of experts over the public across two different (Study 1) and five different (Study 5) economic issues. We further find that undermining an illusion of both topic-relevant (Studies 2--4) and -irrelevant knowledge (Studies 3 and 4) leads to greater normative belief revision in response to expert rather than lay opinion. We suggest one reason that people fail to revise their beliefs more in response to experts is because people think they know more than they really do.
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spelling doaj.art-c257a655afff4c4da04862e9d9278f182023-09-02T19:25:18ZengCambridge University PressJudgment and Decision Making1930-29752020-11-01156909925Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinionEthan A. MeyersMartin H. TurpinMichał BiałekJonathan A. FugelsangDerek J. KoehlerWhile they usually should, people do not revise their beliefs more to expert (economist) opinion than to lay opinion. The present research sought to better understand the factors that make it more likely for an individual to change their mind when faced with the opinions of expert economists versus the general public. Across five studies we examined the role that overestimation of knowledge plays in this behavior. We replicated the finding that people fail to privilege the opinion of experts over the public across two different (Study 1) and five different (Study 5) economic issues. We further find that undermining an illusion of both topic-relevant (Studies 2--4) and -irrelevant knowledge (Studies 3 and 4) leads to greater normative belief revision in response to expert rather than lay opinion. We suggest one reason that people fail to revise their beliefs more in response to experts is because people think they know more than they really do.http://journal.sjdm.org/20/200615a/jdm200615a.pdfbelief revision expertise overestimation explaining ignorancenakeywords
spellingShingle Ethan A. Meyers
Martin H. Turpin
Michał Białek
Jonathan A. Fugelsang
Derek J. Koehler
Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion
Judgment and Decision Making
belief revision
expertise
overestimation
explaining
ignorancenakeywords
title Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion
title_full Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion
title_fullStr Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion
title_full_unstemmed Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion
title_short Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion
title_sort inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert economist opinion
topic belief revision
expertise
overestimation
explaining
ignorancenakeywords
url http://journal.sjdm.org/20/200615a/jdm200615a.pdf
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