Overview

The renowned social scientist, professor, and bestselling author of Predictably Irrational delivers his most urgent and compelling book--an eye-opening exploration of the human side of the misinformation crisis--examining what drives otherwise rational people to adopt deeply irrational beliefs. Misinformation affects all of us on a daily basis--from social media to larger political challenges, from casual conversations in supermarkets, to even our closest relationships. While we recognize the dangers that misinformation poses, the problem is complex--far beyond what policing social media alone can achieve--and too often our limited solutions are shaped by partisan politics and individual interpretations of truth. In Misbelief, preeminent social scientist Dan Ariely argues that to understand the irrational appeal of misinformation, we must first understand the behavior of ""misbelief""--the psychological and social journey that leads people to mistrust accepted truths, entertain alternative facts, and even embrace full-blown conspiracy theories. Misinformation, it turns out, appeals to something innate in all of us--on the right and the left--and it is only by understanding this psychology that we can blunt its effects. Grounded in years of study as well as Ariely's own experience as a target of disinformation, Misbelief is an eye-opening and comprehensive analysis of the psychological drivers that cause otherwise rational people to adopt deeply irrational beliefs. Utilizing the latest research, Ariely reveals the key elements--emotional, cognitive, personality, and social--that drive people down the funnel of false information and mistrust, showing how under the right circumstances, anyone can become a misbeliever. Yet Ariely also offers hope. Even as advanced artificial intelligence has become capable of generating convincing fake news stories at an unprecedented scale, he shows that awareness of these forces fueling misbelief make us, as individuals and as a society, more resilient to its allure. Combating misbelief requires a strategy rooted not in conflict, but in empathy. The sooner we recognize that misbelief is above all else a human problem, the sooner we can become the solution ourselves. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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Reviews

""Ariely's goal...to show the reader how easy it is to believe the irrational. The book asks us to foreground empathy to reexamine some of our own beliefs."" -- "" Booklist"" ""Empathetic but not overly soft, Ariely counsels readers to try to understand why ostracism won't do the trick, why social roles help drive extreme emotions and polarization, and why dealing with the 'funnel of misbelief' is a proposition both staggeringly challenging and wholly necessary."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""In Misbelief, he helps us understand the nature of our opinions, how they're formed, and how the forces of misinformation can distort them."" -- ""Arianna Huffington, #1 New York Times bestselling author"" ""Simon Jones delivers a flawless performance full of lively interpretations and emotional resonance. The acclaimed British actor is enormously entertaining to hear, but he never steals the spotlight from the author's conversational writing and fascinating insights...Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Written with accessibility and humor...With a background in behavioral sciences, this is the authority in the subject that we've needed to make sense of it all."" -- ""Barnes&Noble.com""

Author Information

Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. He is a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight; a cocreator of the film documentary (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies; and a three-time New York Times bestselling author. His books include Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Irrationally Yours, Payoff, Dollars and Sense, and Amazing Decisions. His TED Talks have been viewed more than 27 million times. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He lives in North Carolina with his family. Simon Jones has been featured in nine Broadway productions, was Bridey in PBS's Brideshead Revisited, and the voice of Arthur Dent in the acclaimed Hitchhiker's Guide series.

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