Have you ever encountered a statement that is against or contradictory to what you believe is a fact? Has that statement ever been the actual fact, whilst what you've known to have been a fact, was actually a lie or fabrication? Have you ever clinged onto your believe-to-be-fact fact despite being shown contradictory evidence?
If you have, you're not alone. In fact, the majority of the world's population experience this phenomenon, called belief perseverance, in their everyday lives.
As a kid, I was always afraid of the dark. I've never failed to search for the nearest light source if I found myself submerged in darkness. Similarly, I stuck close to my older siblings or parents when placed in that situation. Prior to the emergence of this fear - also called achluophobia for those curious - my older siblings constantly told me of the unpredictable events that could occur in the shadows. Things like repulsive creatures and snow-white-skinned little girls with drenched black hair(The Grudge, Ring, Exorcist anyone?) could be waiting to grab me the second I stepped in. This lasted for a year or so until my parents took notice (of my abominable clingliness...) and took me aside to talk, telling me things such as "...nothing is there but harmless objects" and "...the dark probably fears you more than you fear it...". It really didn't make much sense, but I got the basic idea after they showed me some proof of there being nothing I'm not hoping for in the dark. Despite this, I was still panicking in the dark. I still held on to the belief that there were things waiting for me.
But why? Why couldn't I let this go? Why do people refuse to believe a definition of a word if that definition happened to have contradicted their previous belief of what that word meant?
The belief perseverance phenomenon is extremely strong. Ethnoreligious conflicts and terrorist attacks, political approaches, and economic disputes may have been the result of this psychological occurance, but what causes it?
Humans are naturally stubborn. Once we have decided to believe something, we have a tendency to keep on believing. In simple terms, belief is held in a spot of our brain that takes effort to get to, and thus takes effort to change.
So what do you think? Have you been called victim to this universal phenomenon?
 oTobias · Sun May 19, 2013 @ 05:50pm · 2 Comments |
