Without an understanding of how human perception works, it’s hard to know what is being accurately portrayed in the media these days. This article reviews scientific findings on perception and opinion formation.

Psychologists, biologists and doctors agree that our sensory organs such as our eyes, ears and tongue, as well as nerve receptors that register smell, touch, temperature and movement, detect information they are supposed to perceive, as long as these sensory systems and our brain are working properly. The fields of communication, business, and marketing teach others how to measure and change people’s opinions.

Commercial advertisers and many media capitalize on established knowledge of perception and opinion formation to influence recipients to approve of their information. The key principles that explain how people form their opinions are:

• Humans, like many other species, evaluate sensory perceptions to determine whether perceived information threatens or benefits our immediate well-being and longer-term survival.

• People form an opinion based on the information we perceive. Beliefs are convictions based on the compilation of consistent opinions.

• Messages that appeal to emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger and sexual attraction are more likely to generate interest than messages that may be more specific but do not provoke emotional responses.

• First impressions set the tone for opinion formation. Commercial advertisers, media and other opinion influencers seek to be the first to report something, as first impressions can lead to brand loyalty and opinions that are hard to erase.

• Humans more readily accept information that agrees with their established beliefs than information that disagrees with their beliefs. This tendency is called confirmation bias. We demonstrate confirmation bias when we only watch news stories about our favorite TV shows.

• The more frequently a message is repeated, the more likely we are to perceive it as correct; this is called repetition bias. Marketers and other opinion influencers apply this principle by repeatedly running similar advertisements.

• Cognitive dissonance occurs when we perceive information that is inconsistent with our established beliefs. Cognitive dissonance is uncomfortable and amplifies when it upsets the beliefs we hold to be important. We reduce cognitive dissonance by rejecting discordant information; we revise our opinions only when additional information outweighs previously established opinions.

• The process of examining information that does not fit established beliefs is called reasoned reasoning. Reasoned reasoning is more likely to lead to accurate opinions than to reject what we don’t want to believe.

How to form an objective opinion?

Our beliefs are choices we make. Whether we pursue reasoned reasoning or reject reasoning is a choice that is within our control and leads to the formation of opinions and eventually beliefs.

Principles of reasoned reasoning include:

• Rely on sources of information that are known to be accurate, such as the results of scientific investigations aimed at reaching unbiased conclusions by following the scientific method.

• The scientific method includes the following steps: 1) Formulate a hypothesis so that an experimental result can only be explained by the results of the modification of the variable studied; 2) Master the comparison methods so that only the variable tested differs; 3) Measure the results to determine statistically whether the results are due to the variable studied or to chance; 4) Arrive at a conclusion that verifies or contradicts the hypothesis.

• The accumulation of knowledge through science has more survival value than the manipulation of perceptions to influence desired opinions. Agricultural producers first developed the scientific method when they observed differences in crop yields as growing conditions varied, such as using manure as fertilizer or not using manure.

• The more information we examine, the more likely we are to have correct opinions. For example, many farmers review test plot data before buying seed.

• It is especially important to review information that contradicts our opinions in order to assess what is most accurate.

• Many people rely on faith to establish their beliefs. Faith is the acceptance of beliefs from sources we deem superior (e.g. parents), as well as by examining previously formed beliefs to reach personal conclusions, or through logical analysis and other methods of investigation. ‘learning.

What to believe is our choice. Fortunately, there are examples that we can draw on to form beliefs.

It’s safe to say that how we form our opinions, and ultimately our beliefs, are choices we make.

Readers can contact Dr. Rosmann at [email protected]