It's really interesting to me how this population is kind of an anomaly; most times when we hear about a group resisting some sort of scientific or medical information, we assume they are uneducated or low-income. Despite this difference, the discussion of what changes people's minds seem to have parallels across different topics. For example, there are studies that show that people are more likely to be swayed on their views against same-sex marriage when they know someone personally who is gay. Facts or information about how children are not negatively impacted by same-sex parents may not have the same effect, just like in this article facts from the CDC don't tend to have an impact. Instead, pictures and personal relationships are what change people's minds. It just goes to show how important human relationships are, not only in our functioning and well-being, but also in changing people's harmful core beliefs.
It's really interesting to me how this population is kind of an anomaly; most times when we hear about a group resisting some sort of scientific or medical information, we assume they are uneducated or low-income. Despite this difference, the discussion of what changes people's minds seem to have parallels across different topics. For example, there are studies that show that people are more likely to be swayed on their views against same-sex marriage when they know someone personally who is gay. Facts or information about how children are not negatively impacted by same-sex parents may not have the same effect, just like in this article facts from the CDC don't tend to have an impact. Instead, pictures and personal relationships are what change people's minds. It just goes to show how important human relationships are, not only in our functioning and well-being, but also in changing people's harmful core beliefs.