I haven’t blogged in a while because I’ve been working diligently on writing a book regarding human behavior.
Typically I’m writing about health and fitness, but truthfully, the whole topic has really become boring to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love it; you could say I’m obsessed with it; however, once you know the science behind nutrition and exercise it’s pretty easy and redundant.
What I do find interesting is trying to figure out why we (people) do what we do.
For instance, a friend of mine just text me and wanted me to blog about intermittent fasting. I almost bit on this topic by explaining the science behind what takes place at the molecular level when we restrict eating for long periods of time – but quickly I thought, why?
It’s pointless.
I’ve learned that it’s very difficult to effectively debunk misinformation. I just provide a listening ear, and if asked, I give the science, and move on. Human behavior is largely based on emotions which are highly biased - so when presented with facts and evidence, it often does nothing to change people’s minds.
A large percentage of the time, when I provide scientific information that contradict someone’s belief, there is a backfire (the back fire effect) that occurs. A belief, after all, is a strongly held position about a topic that we think we have discerned without emotions. In other words, we think that we have made an intellectual decision.
The backfire effect is an interesting aspect of human psychology. When an opinion is contradicted by facts, instead of the opinion changing, it gets strengthened. Due to this effect, whenever you are confronted with facts that contradict something you believe, instead of changing your view or forming a new opinion, your original beliefs will often be strengthened.
Once we develop beliefs, we want to protect them from harm. We do this instinctively and unconsciously when we are confronted with contradictory information. One of the first things we do is seek confirmation bias (seek information that supports our position). The second thing we do is dig in deeper to our belief.
So confirmation bias shields us by actively seeking information that we want to be true (rather than truth), and the backfire effect defends us when the scientific information blindsides you.
Coming or going, we stick to our beliefs instead of questioning them. When someone tries to correct us or tries to dilute our misconceptions, it backfires and strengthens those misconceptions instead.
When it comes to nutrition we have the science. We know what works based on using the scientific method.
The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions.
1. Ask a question
2. Research
3. Hypothesis
4. Experiment
5. Data/Analysis
6. Conclusion
With this information, the study either supports the hypothesis or not. That’s science.
So back to intermittent fasting - due to the backfire effect I’m going to set this one out.
The main thing I would like for us all to be aware of is the dangers of seeking information based on feeling rather than facts. Our brain is very emotional. We’d rather feel more and think less.
The evolutionary neural wiring of the brain is such that our emotional brain overpowers the cognitive brain (executive director) almost every time.
It takes a conscious effort to understand this so as not to fall victim to this cognitive bias called the backfire effect.
In conclusion, I believe we have an obligation and responsibility, not only for ourselves, but for our children as well, to seek the truth.
Let’s all join in together to challenge misleading information that may be susceptible to the backfire effect that could lead to many years of repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
