A Discussion on Belief Perserverance
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Belief perseverance can be described as being the phenomenon in which individuals or groups believe in their theories despite the existence of contrary evidence (Bonabeau, 2009). When analyzing the erroneous research on vaccination scenarios, it is believed that this phenomenon did occur. As a psychology professional, there are ways in which belief perseverance can be recognized. First, if theories or conclusions do not consider contrary evidence, belief perseverance may be present. Second, if theories or conclusions do not follow critical and scientific thinking guidelines, it is another possibility that belief perseverance may be present. Ultimately, as a psychology professional, it is imperative that I must remain unbiased, clear-headed, and aware of the phenomenon in order to recognize it and prevent it (Bonabeau, 2009).
With belief perseverance, just asking people to be unbiased, doesn't work. A few techniques have been tried to reduce the problem, the most successful is to get the person to imagine or explain how the opposite belief might be true. This technique is called counter explanation, and has been the most successful to date. Counter explanation - not arguing - can help others to see from a different perspective.
How do you think it might be to council someone with belief perseverance?
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Solution Summary
A short discussion about belief perseverance and what it would be like to council someone with this particular phenomena, including an example given regarding religious belief perseverance. This is all completed within 167 words.
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Belief perseverance can be difficult to overcome, especially when someone has deeply rooted beliefs that are centered on an irrational fear if those beliefs are changed or abandoned. For example, if someone has a belief that they will be sent to hell if they no longer ...
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