Confirmatory bias in health decisions: Evidence from the MMR-autism controversy

Abstract

Since Wakefield et al. (1998), the public was exposed to mixed information surrounding the claim that measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism. A persistent trend to delay the vaccination during 1998-2011 in the US was driven by children of college-educated mothers, suggesting that these mothers held biases against the vaccine influenced by the early unfounded claim. Consistent with confirmatory bias, exposures to negative information about the vaccine strengthened their biases more than exposures to positive information attenuated them. Positive online information, however, had strong impacts on vaccination decisions, suggesting that online dissemination of vaccine-safety information may help tackle the sticky misinformation.

Psychological responses, behavioral changes and public perceptions during the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China: a population based cross-sectional survey

“…28 Second, consequences of misinformation could be long-lasting and should not be underestimated in health crisis management. 7,29 Although efficacy of behaviors supported in advertising campaign was well received, rumors that have been proved wrong earlier during the SARS outbreak, for example, washing mouth with salty water, or having vitamin C or radix isatidis, still found their audience. Only 24.6-37.9% respondents in our study correctly considered these measures as ineffective (Table S4); the correct rate was significantly lower in Wuhan.…”

What Motivates Internet Users to Search for Asperger Syndrome and Autism on Google?

“…It is increasingly common for people (especially those with limited resources) to make use of different websites to search for and satisfy their queries on any subject [10]. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google have become absolute spreaders of information about the autism and Asperger's diagnoses [11][12][13].…”

“…In other cases, the same platforms can act as standardization, awareness, and inclusion tools. Quality-grounded-and positive information, in addition to propagating initiatives and awareness campaigns, can break with the unfounded prejudices created by false myths [13,17]. Studies guarantee that positive media coverage of influential figures with certain diagnoses, in this particular case, autism or Asperger syndrome, can have a unique ability to enhance visibility and normalization.…”

Factors of predicting the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in West Africa

“…Notably, information available online has been found to have a stronger impact on the biases of college-educated mothers than newspaper coverage, with exposure to negative information strengthening their bias via the mechanism of confirmation bias in relation to education and socio-economic status, with those of lower income and the unemployed holding less positive views of vaccines (15).…”

“…In addition, the parental factor based on attitudes and behaviours may contribute to vaccine acceptance. given that the majority of the literature has focused on children's vaccinations and parental attitudes, studies often report the attitudes of mothers and fathers as opposed to parents in general (15). According to one researcher, Jennifer Reich, who studied vaccination hesitancy of parents in relation to measles, exploring what defines good parenting in relation to vaccination, relatively few parents actually reject vaccines, but instead harbour concerns about children's safety and the pain of injections, which suggests the need for dialogue and communication in order to understand these concerns (16).…”