I don't want to be right (... I'm a Toys R Us kid)
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/i-dont-want-to-be-right
Its when that change contradicts something weve long held as important that problems occur.
In those scenarios, attempts at correction can indeed be tricky. In a study from 2013, Kelly Garrett and Brian Weeks looked to see if political misinformationspecifically, details about who is and is not allowed to access your electronic health recordsthat was corrected immediately would be any less resilient than information that was allowed to go uncontested for a while. At first, it appeared as though the correction did cause some people to change their false beliefs. But, when the researchers took a closer look, they found that the only people who had changed their views were those who were ideologically predisposed to disbelieve the fact in question. If someone held a contrary attitude, the correction not only didnt workit made the subject more distrustful of the source. A climate-change study from 2012 found a similar effect. Strong partisanship affected how a story about climate change was processed, even if the story was apolitical in nature, such as an article about possible health ramifications from a disease like the West Nile Virus, a potential side effect of change. If information doesnt square with someones prior beliefs, he discards the beliefs if theyre weak and discards the information if the beliefs are strong.
Even when we think weve properly corrected a false belief, the original exposure often continues to influence our memory and thoughts.