Persistence Of Myths Could Alter Public Policy Approach
According to this Washington Post article, new psychological studies show that denials and clarifications in public statements can paradoxically contribute and reinforce popular myths, which is important for media-delivered messages.
This article describes several examples of how the presentation of both true and false statements within the same message can result in the reinforcement of myths as the truth among an audience.
A specific example was given for a CDC flier, which was released to combat myths about the flu vaccine. Although it contained various statements labeled as “true” or “false,” within 30 minutes, older people misremembered 28% of the false statements as true. Three days later, they remembered 40% of the false statements as true. Although younger people did somewhat better, after several days the results were similar.
Long term memories are important in public health campaigns, although refuting incorrect or misleading facts is not not always a bad idea. The research shows, however, that once an idea is in a person’s mind, it is difficult to dispute and repetition is a major culprit for reinforcing those ideas, whether true or false.