What makes so many people appear to be hardwired to believe whatever they hear?

[NRaleighLiberal]

The Giuliani and Perino statements (no domestic terror attacks happened on Bush's watch). The whole full court press to link Saddam with 911 (I suspect that at least half the country still believes this). And I suspect the fact that people spend loads of money on Infomercial products that certainly either don't work at all, or are largely BS. It is the enabler of the effectiveness of propaganda, and a significant tool used by fascists.

Is this just one of those human faults?

I just makes one's head explode!

[ananda]

1. I've been personally attacked by Congress...

... which has made it possible for my health insurance
company to cut back on claims payments and covered
services such as routine mammogram screening and other
kinds of preventive screenings, and on payments for
and coverage of prescriptions.

I consider this a domestic terrorist attack by my
health insurer and by Congress.

[stray cat]

2. because most people don't think logically/rationally or bother obtaining facts

[Fire1]

3. It's human nature. People believe what they WANT to believe.

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. Interesting, isn't it. My friends call me extremely cynical (and don't see it as a positive)

because I tend to mistrust information before I check it out. They are both smart people, on is even a quite liberal Dem - but they can't fathom that there could ever be conspiracies, that that media is spinning for the right, etc. Makes for interesting discussions between us!

[Fire1]

13. Yeah. It seems the older I get the more cynical I become.

I imagine it's the result of experience. So, just think what you're going to be like in 20 years! LOL!!!

[NRaleighLiberal]

14. Man. In 20 years, I'll be 74! Argggh! then I will really be old!

Or will be be "the new 50s"!!!

[Fire1]

20. Right! And no one will want to be around you! Fancy that! n/t

[sui generis]

4. it's social conditioning - believing something by dint of authority

So the "authority" is their priest, a media icon, anybody with more apparent power, including self-styled authorities.

There are people here who slavishly follow certain other of our "famous" posters merely because they're published or have been interviewed on TV or have written a book, even if sometimes the insight and ideas spewing from their keyboards isn't fit for a second grader.

You may have had your encounters with those folks yourself: you disagree with the post (not the person), and actually have a reasonable rational conversation, but their supporters are blind with rage that you dared assail authority, and that's right here on DU.

Imagine what it's like out in the real world. Most harsh legal punishment is not made to fit the crime - it's made to teach you not to defy authority, so we train people from the time they can walk that defying or questioning authority is bad and bad for you.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. It's a great point. If you try to reason why alcohol is acceptable but marijuana not,

it makes no sense really - but we don't as a country like to revisit rules that have been carried through from the past.

Just think of how silly the whole "can't way the F word" thing is! It is just a word!

If you think about life too much (as most people live it), very little of it ends up making sense!

[joecool65]

11. Great point about this board

I have made some arguments on this board contrary to the majority of those posting and people will make the point that I "only" have 229 or so posts compared to "Person X" who has over 1000. Who cares if someone has over 1000 posts on an Internet chat board? Does that make them more knowledgeable or wiser than myself? I made those points as well as stating I regularly read DU but do not post that often, but people still did not accept my arguments and sided with "Person X" who has over 1000 posts.

[Fire1]

17. You know what Forrest Gump says. LOL!!! n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. they believe the media and the government

sheep?

sheep are less ignorant perhaps?

[joecool65]

7. I have come to the conclusion that most people...

...will believe almost anything they want to believe regardless of contrary information presented to them.

For example, I know a college-educated woman (Republican, of course) who believes that Obama should not be President because she belives he was not born in the United States. After an exhaustive argument with her online one night, I finally told her that even if he was born out of the country, his mother was an American, so that qualifies him to be President no matter where he was born. She still did not buy that argument until I reminded her that McCain was born in Panama. She really was not totally convinced that Obama should be President, but was still not convinced he was born in the United States.

[undeterred]

10. She wants to believe that.

Its amazing to me that people think conservative justice Roberts would have sworn in Obama if there were any question about his eligibility.

[Tutankhamun]

41. And it's amazing that people think the CIA would have allowed it.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

23. August 21, 1959

Hawaii became a State.

[undeterred]

9. We have an uneducated public.

People don't know what's in the Constitution. They don't know who their elected representatives are. They follow authority figures who make them feel good. So they are easy manipulated.

[joecool65]

15. Fox News and talk radio

It is amazing to me that so many people watch Fox News and/or listen to talk radio, believe all or almost everyting they see or hear, yet totally disregard anything they see or hear from a "liberal" source simply because they are told to ignore those things from Fox News and/or talk radio. Rhetorical question here, but do those people realize they are being manipulated by Fox News and/or talk radio and those sources have an agenda, namely to make money?

[RDANGELO]

12. The tribal human instinct

You connect with peoples concept of the tribe,such as white America or White Christian America, and then heighten the notion that the tribe is being threatened. Once you have them hooked on that, they are very susceptible to misinformation.

[seabeyond]

16. what is really ahrd is when you are not that person, lol. as if something is wrong with me.

not willing to just buy into it.

[Octafish]

18. PSYOPS 101

Be first to lie.

It will take about 100-times the truth to get it out of the heads of about half who heard the lie. A good chunk of the remainder will keep believing -- and repeating -- the lie, no matter how much truth there is.

Saddam was behind 9-11... Iraq has WMDs... Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone...

[conscious evolution]

24. Yep

The vast majority of people have no clue how large and widespread the psyops industry is.Most have no clue that the advertising industry is nothing BUT a psyops industry.Nor do the vast majority of people know that billions of dollars have been spent by researchers to learn how to most effectively use peoples phsychological make up against them.

[Octafish]

36. ''I am a PROUD corporatist.''

Beep.

[conscious evolution]

38. LOL!

[TexasObserver]

19. Ignorance and stupidity drive the GOP base.

These are people who believe the earth is 6000 years old, that a talking snake caused humans to have original sin, that God - like Santa - is making a list and checking it twice. In short, they're ignorant, stupid, delusional people and they make up 25% of the population.

[izzybeans]

21. They did the same with TARP, pinned it on Obama and it gets repeated willy nilly

here. I can't count how many times I've seen someone post about Obama's mistake with TARP.

Stupid people believe stupid things.

[laughingliberal]

27. The American people are known for short memories

which accounts for those who don't remember it was Bush's administration that pushed TARP through and his treasury secretary who gave the money away without condition. That said, it doesn't help the cause that Obama's treasury secretary has seen no reason to change that policy. The lack of transparency on this issue is a pox on both their houses.

[laughingliberal]

22. Propaganda is insidious

Bush' people and the media spent years telling us how Bush 'kept us safe' after 9/11. Eventually, those so inclined only hear the kept us safe part of it. Then, someone comes on and says something stupid like no terror attacks happened on Bush's watch and their brain thinks, "he kept us safe.'

Whenever we hear a politician or the media repeat the same phrases every time they are asked about or speak about a particular subject there is a subtle attempt at brainwashing in progress. Unfortunately, it is often successful. More successful, of course, in those predisposed to believe the source to begin with, of course but those who are neutral or disposed to trust the source initially will, eventually, assimilate the message as 'truth.'

[conscious evolution]

39. This sort of repitition is known as

branding by the advertising industry.
The cattle industry uses branding to claim ownership.
Think about that.

[CoffeeCat]

25. It's called denial--which is a defense mechanism.

Denial protects the mind.

Think about it...if people entertain the notion that our entire government and the
leaders of this nation are lying, murdering bastards who view us as nothing more
than objects---it's painful.

The easier choice is to believe that our system of government is just fine and
that those who have power over us---are telling us the truth.

People sit in denial because it's less painful than the reality.

[shadowknows69]

26. I really think it is some instinctive human thing.

Or sadder something we've gained through evolution steered by our mass consumption of media. I fall prey to it. I admit, I take the word of some commentators (Keith, Rachel) on faith becaue I think they're thorough and true journalists, but admittedly don't check the facts they are allegedly checking. Yeah, I think it's a reflex we all have. You believe who you trust, sometimes even if there's astounding evidence to the contrary. That's the line over which trust becomes blind loyalty and once crossed I don't think there's much coming back. When you've decided reality is always lying to you then you are a slave to someone else's will.

[NRaleighLiberal]

28. Yep. I am guilty of it too in ways you mention. The whole business of religion

is based upon it, of course! (and a successful business it is...)

[shadowknows69]

30. No argument from me there. Although I'm not completely anti-religion.

The spiritual and life lessons you can learn from a belief system are a good thing for many people. As long as they don't get tied down by their own myths and hand over too much power to them. The lesson we are supposed to learn from the "Gods" is that only we have the power, but we do have it, to make ourselves a better species. Most Gods, with the exception of "Perfect and sinless" Jesus, were always as flawed as the humans that invented them. Therein lay our connection with the divine. That despite incredible adversity we could become God-like within ourselves IE masters of our own destinies, not tied to self fulfilling prophecy. It was when we made God too perfect to ever attain, except by dying, that people started using it for power. Through fear, not love for one another and truth to one's own self.

[NRaleighLiberal]

33. me too. I like many of the principles of some religions -

but I don't like the herd mentality and the use of religion to divide, promote fear and label others.

[AngryAmish]

34. It is the way our brains are made

look up confirmation bias.

[Skittles]

29. propaganda is used to make them WANT to believe any bullshit they hear

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

31. Consider the statement "There is a tiger behind you!"

Consider the statement "There is a tiger behind you!"

The potential downside of ignoring it is higher than the downside of falling for a trick.

That is why our default position is acceptance of whatever we hear.

It would probably have been very difficult for our language instinct to evolve without that tendency.

[BreweryYardRat]

42. Exactly.

Our societal development has vastly outpaced our mental evolutionary process.

Have you read Sprague de Camp's "The Ape-Man Within" too, or did you just come up with this on your own?

[surrealAmerican]

32. It's because they're sweet, innocent, trusting, ...

... and just plain lazy. If they heard more conflicting opinions, that might help, but they won't seek them out.

[babydollhead]

35. It is much easier to hang a flag and nod yes to everything

and it takes gumption to question, to want what's best for everyone(health, water, food, shelter, work, love).

[EFerrari]

37. Because there's a huge industry talking into their "hardwiring"?

[Tutankhamun]

40. The M$M are also very good at conditioning us to believe them.

In fact, most of us did grow up pretty much believing whatever the M$M told us. We learned as toddlers that what they say on the news is true. Kids know that TV doesn't lie. How could it. You can see everything right in front of you. And why would TV lie to us? They've never lied to us before.

The thing is, some of us realized at some point that M$M lies constantly, and some of us are stupid.

[treestar]

43. There used to be standards in journalism

If it was said on national TV, it was likely true and a fact rather than opinion, and the current crop of airheads depend on the fact that there are still people who haven't gotten past that.

In the era of the talking heads, most of us need to learn that it can be completely false if on TV. That's no longer enough to support any kind of authority.