1 of 15

Why are some ideas easy to believe on little evidence?

Dr Anna Stone

May 2026

Critical Approaches to Librarianship Conference

​

Stone, A. (2024) Why are some ideas easy to believe on little evidence? In C.Brown and G.Handscomb (Ed) The Lure of Dark Ideas. Emerald Publishing Ltd.

Anna Stone May 2026

1

2 of 15

Basic premise

  • We believe in concepts and claims for which there is insufficient evidence.
  • We hold many of our beliefs for social and emotional reasons.
  • … not because they fit into a rational worldview.

Anna Stone May 2026

2

3 of 15

What is knowledge?

We have knowledge when

    • Something is true, and
    • We believe it is true, and
    • We have good reasons for believing it is true.

Anna Stone May 2026

3

4 of 15

Family and friends vs experts

  • Implicit honesty premium (Haran & Shalvi, 2019)
  • We prefer to “go with our guts” and trust private individuals more than public information
  • Why?
  • We are swayed by people to whom we feel close
  • We hold attitudes for which we have been rewarded

Anna Stone May 2026

4

5 of 15

False consensus

  • We believe other people agree with us more than they actually do.
  • Why?
    • Biased recall
    • Justification to prove ourselves right
    • Surrounding ourselves with people who think like us

Anna Stone May 2026

5

6 of 15

Distrust in institutions

  • YouGov poll, 11,500 people, 8 European countries + USA
  • 77% distrusted journalists
  • 76% distrusted governments
  • 74% distrusted company CEOs
  • 64% (in the UK) still trust academics (57% in USA)
  • What lies behind conspiracy thinking (Kim & Kim, 2021)
  • Including Covid conspiracies (Jedinger & Masch, 2024)

Anna Stone May 2026

6

7 of 15

What types of belief are resistant to change?

  • Emotional and rational thinking
    • what happens to new knowledge?
  • Functions of beliefs
    • Explanatory or emotional?

​

​

  • Griffin & Ohlsson (2001)

Anna Stone May 2026

7

8 of 15

Why is everyday scientific reasoning so hard?

  • Stories use personal anecdotes and appeals to personal experience
  • Lack of understanding how to evaluate scientific findings

On the plus side:

  • Using emotion can help to promote good ideas
  • Prebunking helps (tobacco and climate change)
  • Shah et al (2017)

Anna Stone May 2026

8

9 of 15

What happens under uncertainty and stress?

  • When we feel stressed, we cling to our ideas more strongly (Farias et al, 2013)
  • When we feel uncertainty, higher level of belief in conspiracies (Whitson et al, 2014)

Anna Stone May 2026

9

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

10 of 15

Dogmatism

  • Core beliefs give us certainty and stability
  • A dogmatic attitude towards our beliefs can help to relieve anxiety
  • (but can be prejudiced towards those with different beliefs)
  • Also true for beliefs held with moral certainty

Anna Stone May 2026

10

11 of 15

Motivated reasoning

  • We start with the belief, and �find reasons to support it
  • Confirmation bias
  • Particular when the belief is �central to identity
  • Or fulfils an ideological or psychological need
  • May not be done deliberately (unconscious)

Anna Stone May 2026

11

12 of 15

How can we counter misinformation?

  • Teaching rational / analytical thinking …
  • … and persuading people to use these skills

Anna Stone May 2026

12

Care

 

 

Fairness

 

 

Loyalty

 

 

Authority

 

 

Sanctity

 

 

  • Find out what motivates people’s beliefs
  • Recognise their values

13 of 15

Any questions?

  • A.Stone@uel.ac.uk

Anna Stone May 2026

13

14 of 15

References

  • Farias, M., Newheiser, A. K., Kahane, G., & de Toledo, Z. (2013). Scientific faith: Belief in science increases in the face of stress and existential anxiety. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(6), 1210-1213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.05.008
  • Griffin, T.D., & Ohlsson, S. (2001). Beliefs Versus Knowledge: A Necessary Distinction for Explaining, Predicting, and Assessing Conceptual Change. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 23
  • Haran, U., & Shalvi, S. (2019). The Implicit Honesty Premium: Why Honest Advice Is More Persuasive than Highly Informed Advice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149, 757-773. DOI: 10.1037/xge0000677
  • Jedinger, A. & Masch, L (2024) Need for cognitive closure, political trust, and belief in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Social Psychology, 2, doi:10.3389/frsps.2024.1447313
  • Kim, S. & Kim, S. (2021) Searching for a general model of conspiracy theories and its implication for public health policy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 266-293

Anna Stone May 2026

14

15 of 15

References

  • Rivas, J. (2018). Our experiment into how voters think shows that they go with their guts. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/our-experiment-into-how-voters-think-shows-that-they-go-with-their-guts-90241
  • Ross, L., Greene, D., & House, P. (1977). The false consensus effect: An egocentric bias in social perception and attribution processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13(3), 279–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(77)90049-X
  • Shah, P., Michal, A., Ibrahim, A., Rhodes, R., & Rodriguez, F. (2017) Chapter Seven - What Makes Everyday Scientific Reasoning So Challenging? In B.H.Ross (Ed.) Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 66, 251-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.plm.2016.11.006
  • Whitson, J.A., Galinsky, A.D., & Kay, A. (2014) The emotional roots of conspiratorial perceptions, system justification, and belief in the paranormal. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Anna Stone May 2026

15