Regarding the study: I am not surprised. Once people believe a myth it is probably harder for them to stop believing it, unless:
(a) people actively challenge themselves to dismantle out-of-date beliefs; or
(b) people are confronted with something that forces cognitive dissonance.
So why do myths seem to persist despite their questionable veracity? I want to throw out a few thoughts about the lifecycle of myths:
1. Myths are interesting and tell a story that resonates with their audience. This helps get them in our brains in the first place.
2. Myths are credible, at least at first. Perhaps they are based on scientific argumentation or conventional wisdom or (somewhat limited) experience. This gives a myth a mental foothold.
3. Some myths are untestable, at least practically speaking from the perspective of people that believe them. So myth-based knowledge tends to linger.
4. Myths may be repeated (like memes) simply due to associative memory. People's brains work largely by association, so many myths spread because they give a person something interesting to say. This gives myths a way to spread.
5. To some degree, myths are busted for various reasons. But the overall dynamics of myths (call it myth epidemiology if you want) means that they may have already infected a significant portion of the population.
Comments
Regarding the study: I am not surprised. Once people believe a myth it is probably harder for them to stop believing it, unless: (a) people actively challenge themselves to dismantle out-of-date beliefs; or (b) people are confronted with something that forces cognitive dissonance.
So why do myths seem to persist despite their questionable veracity? I want to throw out a few thoughts about the lifecycle of myths:
1. Myths are interesting and tell a story that resonates with their audience. This helps get them in our brains in the first place.
2. Myths are credible, at least at first. Perhaps they are based on scientific argumentation or conventional wisdom or (somewhat limited) experience. This gives a myth a mental foothold.
3. Some myths are untestable, at least practically speaking from the perspective of people that believe them. So myth-based knowledge tends to linger.
4. Myths may be repeated (like memes) simply due to associative memory. People's brains work largely by association, so many myths spread because they give a person something interesting to say. This gives myths a way to spread.
5. To some degree, myths are busted for various reasons. But the overall dynamics of myths (call it myth epidemiology if you want) means that they may have already infected a significant portion of the population.