Countering antivaccination attitudes

Zachary Horne; Derek Powell; John E. Hummel; Keith J. Holyoak

doi:10.1073/pnas.1504019112

Countering antivaccination attitudes

Zachary Horne, Derek Powell, John E. Hummel, Keith J. Holyoak

Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of (SSBS)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

241 Scopus citations

Abstract

Three times as many cases of measles were reported in the United States in 2014 as in 2013. The reemergence of measles has been linked to a dangerous trend: parents refusing vaccinations for their children. Efforts have been made to counter people's anti-vaccination attitudes by providing scientific evidence refuting vaccination myths, but these interventions have proven ineffective. This study shows that highlighting factual information about the dangers of communicable diseases can positively impact people's attitudes to vaccination. This method outperformed alternative interventions aimed at undercutting vaccination myths.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	10321-10324
Number of pages	4
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	112
Issue number	33
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1504019112
State	Published - Aug 18 2015

Keywords

Attitude change
Belief revision
Science education
Vaccination

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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AB - Three times as many cases of measles were reported in the United States in 2014 as in 2013. The reemergence of measles has been linked to a dangerous trend: parents refusing vaccinations for their children. Efforts have been made to counter people's anti-vaccination attitudes by providing scientific evidence refuting vaccination myths, but these interventions have proven ineffective. This study shows that highlighting factual information about the dangers of communicable diseases can positively impact people's attitudes to vaccination. This method outperformed alternative interventions aimed at undercutting vaccination myths.

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KW - Belief revision

KW - Science education

KW - Vaccination

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Countering antivaccination attitudes

Abstract

Keywords

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