雅思课外读物--Why are we so gullible（易受骗的）?

The problem, she says, emerges from our deeply flawed memories. Correcting the facts “would work very well if we could play back our memories as if they were recorded on video, but years of research show the memory is not perfect – we fill in gaps and we lose information,” she says.

Fraying(磨损的) beliefs

As a result of these frailties(虚弱;脆弱), we are instantly drawn to the juicier details of a story – the original myth – while forgetting the piddling little fact that it’s been proven false. Worse still, by repeating the original myth, the correction will have increased the familiarity of the claim – and as we’ve seen, familiarity breeds believability. Rather than uprooting(根除;灭绝) the myth, the well-intentioned correction has only pushed it deeper.

A debunked(被揭露的) myth may also leave an uncomfortable gap in the mind. Lewandowsky explains that our beliefs are embedded in our “mental models” of the way the world works; each idea is interlinked with our other views. It’s a little like a tightly bound book: once you tear out one page, the others may begin to fray as well. “You end up with a black hole in your mental representation, and people don’t like it.” To avoid that discomfort, we would often rather cling to the myth before our whole belief system starts unravelling(解体).

Fortunately, there are more effective ways to set people straight and make the truth stick. For a start, you should avoid repeating the original story (where possible) and try to come up with a whole alternative to patch up the tear in their mental model. “If I tell you the Moon is not made of cheese, then you find it difficult to give up on the belief – but if I say it’s not cheese but rock, you say ‘OK, fine’, because you still have an idea of what the Moon is like,” explains Lewandowsky.

Newman agrees it’s a helpful strategy. For instance, when considering the fears that MMR vaccines may be linked to autism(自闭症), she suggests it would be better to build a narrative around the scientific fraud(欺骗) that gave rise to the fears – rather than the typical “myth-busting” article that unwittingly reinforces the misinformation. Whatever story you choose, you need to increase the cognitive fluency with clear language, pictures, and good presentation. And repeating the message, a little but often, will help to keep it fresh in their minds. Soon, it begins to feel as familiar and comfortable as the erroneous(错误的) myth – and the tide of opinion should begin to turn.

At the very least, staying conscious of these flaws in your thinking will help you to identify when you may be being deceived. Both Newman and Lewandowsky point out that there is a flurry(一阵风雪) of misinformation flying around the forthcoming US presidential elections, as seen in Donald Trump’s claims that Mexican immigrants bring sexual violence and drug trafficking and Hillary Clinton’s opinion that Isis are using videos of Trump to recruit terrorists. (Neither statement held up to fact-checking.)

It’s always worth asking whether you have thought carefully about the things you are reading and hearing. Or are you just being a cognitive miser, persuaded by biased(有偏见的) feelings rather than facts? Some of your dearest opinions may have no more substance(物质;实质;基础) than the great banana hoax(骗局) of the year 2000.

Vocabulary

gullible 容易被骗的

gullibility 轻信;容易上当

livid 青紫色的

epidemic 流行的;流行病

decry 谴责;指责

distort 歪曲;

variant 变体

apocalypse 末世;大灾难

far-fetched 子虚乌有的

bizarre 奇怪的

bypass 绕过

explicitly 明确地

swivel 转动

frivolous 轻浮的

extraneous 外在的

begrudgingly 不情愿地

pervasive 普遍的

default 默认(值)

slick 熟练的;机灵的

inconsequential 不重要的

in light of 根据

infectious 传染的

backfire 逆火;适得其反

frailty 虚弱;弱点

uproot 根除

debunk 揭露

unravel 解体

autism 自闭症

fraud 欺诈

erroneous 错误的

flurry 一阵风雪

biased 有偏见的

substance 物质;基础

hoax 欺骗;闹剧

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