Hi everyone,
This Friday (October 8th) from 15:00 – 16:00 there will be another exciting talk at the Hot Politics Lab meeting. In this session, Hugo Mercier (CNRS, Institute Jean Nicod, Paris) will give a talk titled “Not
born Yesterday: Why humans are less gullible than we think”. Below the abstract. The talk will be followed by a Q&A, and everybody is welcome to join via Zoom:
https://uva-live.zoom.us/j/96492065253 at 3pm (CET).
Abstract:
It is often thought that humans are gullible,
easily manipulated by demagogues, advertisers, and politicians. I will argue that the opposite is true: humans are equipped with a set of
psychological mechanisms that allow them to properly evaluate communicated information, and to reject information that is false or harmful. I will rely on experimental
psychology data, as well as studies showing the failures of mass persuasion, from Nazi propaganda to American presidential campaigns. I will also offer explanations for the success of some misconceptions—from pizzagate to flat earth—that are not
based on credulity.
If you missed any of the previous online hot politics lab meetings, or just want to watch them again, you can find all video and audio recordings of our last online meetings in our Online Hot Politics Lab Meetings archive
here:
http://www.hotpolitics.eu/lab-meetings-archive/.
Have a great rest of the week and hope to see you all Friday!
Best,
Maaike Homan
PhD Candidate at the Political Science Department
Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research
University of Amsterdam
Room B10.01
