Misbelief : what makes rational people believe irrational things / Dan Ariely

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Demonized : an introduction that you should read even if you are the kind of person who usually skips introductions -- Part I: The funnel of misbelief. How could that person believe that thing? ; The funnel at work -- Part II: The emotional elements and the story of stress. Pressure, stress, bending, and breaking ; Picking a villain as a way to regain control -- Part III: The cognitive elements and the story of our dysfunctional information-processing machinery. Our search for the truth we want to believe in ; Working hard to believe what we already believe -- Part IV: The personality elements and the story of our individual differences. Lessons on personality from alien abductees ; An attempt to classify the role of personality in the funnel of misbelief -- Part V: The social elements and the story of tribalism. Ostracism, belonging, and the social attraction of misbelief ; The social accelerator -- Part VI: Misbelief, trust, and the story of our future. Can we afford to trust again and can we afford not to? ; Why Superman gives me hope : a final word (not really).

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.