![]() ![]() In part because of the speed and accessibility of social media, the spread of health and science misinformation is ubiquitous (e.g., Kouzy et al., 2020 Merchant & Asch, 2018 Sharma et al., 2017). Additionally, science news articles may oversell scientific claims (e.g., Bromme & Goldman, 2014), for instance by not including hedging language or citing a single study as conclusive rather than putting it in the context of a body of literature. ![]() Yet some popular press articles are touting fake science news, which may include pseudoscientific claims (e.g., ‘effectiveness’ of homeopathic remedies), exaggerated headlines (e.g., “ Young people are growing horns from cellphone use: study”), and endorsements of bad science, such as the retracted 1998 Lancet article showing a supposed link between MMR vaccines and autism (Eggertson, 2010). The prevalence of making decisions based on scientific claims, or evidence-based decision-making, is thus growing across several fields, from medicine, public health, and education to everyday life. Decisions can also take place in a work context teachers or administrators might decide which curricula to adopt, physicians decide which medications to prescribe, and so forth. Some of these decisions are personal, such as deciding whether to consume genetically modified foods or vaccinate your children. While the example above is specific to education, people are increasingly expected to apply scientific findings to real-world problems. However, despite the pervasive belief in its effectiveness, the learning styles theory is considered a ‘neuromyth’ that has virtually no evidence in support of it (e.g., Kirschner, & van Merriënboer, 2013 Nancekivell et al., 2020 Pashler et al., 2008). Suppose you came across an article on a popular website titled “ Knowing Your Learning Style Can Help You Succeed in School and Beyond.” Would you change the way you learn information based on that article? Would you send that article to your family and friends? In fact, according to a recent survey of nearly 3000 people, 90% of participants reported believing that people learn better when information is presented in their preferred learning modality (i.e., visual, auditory, read/written, or kinesthetically Boser, 2017). Together, these studies suggest that evidence-based decisions are more strongly determined by prior beliefs than beliefs about the quality of evidence itself. We again found that participants were more likely to implement high plausible than low plausible interventions, and that evidence quality was underweighed as a factor in these decisions. In Experiment 2, we tested whether this intervention effect was driven by differences in beliefs about intervention plausibility and included two additional interventions (virtual reality = high plausible, napping = low plausible). ![]() However, participants were more likely to adopt the more plausible intervention (tidy classroom) despite identifying that it was unsupported by the evidence, suggesting effects of prior beliefs. Experiment 1 tested the impact of a single anecdote and found no significant effect on either participants’ evidence evaluations or decisions to implement the learning interventions. Each article described the results of flawed research on one of four educational interventions to improve learning (Experiment 1 included articles about having a tidy classroom and exercising while learning Experiment 2 included articles about using virtual/augmented reality and napping at school). ![]() Across two experiments, we addressed how anecdotes and prior beliefs impact readers’ ability to both identify flawed science and make appropriate decisions based on flawed science in media articles. However, science misinformation is ubiquitous in the media, making it difficult to apply research appropriately. Today’s citizens are expected to use evidence, frequently presented in the media, to inform decisions about health, behavior, and public policy. ![]()
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