The Backfire Effect: Why It’s Hard to Change Anyone’s Mind (Including Your Own)
QUESTION: Why is it hard to change anyone’s mind (especially your own)?
ANSWER: The Backfire Effect.
The Backfire Effect is a bias that leads us to double down on a false belief despite evidence that firmly contradicts it.
You would think encountering evidence that challenges our erroneous beliefs would be enough to prompt us to change them.
This typically isn’t the case.
Instead of causing us to doubt our beliefs, it typically causes us to double down on them.
Instead of correcting our errors, we seek to cover them.
Instead of sitting with the dissonance of being wrong, we deny ourselves that experience altogether.
For more resources on the Backfire Effect, check out:
Where have you seen the Backfire Effect before? In yourself? The world?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
