Inducing feelings of ignorance makes people more receptive to expert (economist) opinion

Ethan A. Meyers, Martin H. Turpin, Michał Białek, Jonathan A. Fugelsang and Derek J. Koehler

Judgment and Decision Making, 2020, vol. 15, issue 6, 909-925

Abstract: While they usually should, people do not revise their beliefs more to expert (economist) opinion than to lay opinion. The present research sought to better understand the factors that make it more likely for an individual to change their mind when faced with the opinions of expert economists versus the general public. Across five studies we examined the role that overestimation of knowledge plays in this behavior. We replicated the finding that people fail to privilege the opinion of experts over the public across two different (Study 1) and five different (Study 5) economic issues. We further find that undermining an illusion of both topic-relevant (Studies 2–4) and -irrelevant knowledge (Studies 3 and 4) leads to greater normative belief revision in response to expert rather than lay opinion. We suggest one reason that people fail to revise their beliefs more in response to experts is because people think they know more than they really do.

Date: 2020
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