Belief : What It Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So Compelling

"An expert on the psychology of belief examines how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be. This book explores the psychology of belief - how beliefs are formed, how they are influenced both by internal factors, such as perception, memory, reason, emotion, and prior beliefs, as well as external factors, such as experience, identification with a group, social pressure, and manipulation. It also reveals how vulnerable beliefs are to error, and how they can be held with great confidence even when factually false. The author, a social psychologist who specializes in the psychology of belief, elucidates how the brain and nervous system function to create the perceptions, memories, and emotions that shape belief. He explains how and why distorted perceptions, false memories, and inappropriate emotional reactions that sometimes lead us to embrace false beliefs are natural products of mental functioning. He also shows why it is so difficult to change our beliefs when they collide with contradictions. Covering a wide range -- from self-perception and the perceived validity of everyday experience to paranormal, religious, and even fatal beliefs--the book demonstrates how crucial beliefs are to molding our experience and why they have such a powerful hold on our behavior"--;"An expert on the psychology of belief examines how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be"--;Part I: The power of belief -- Belief to die for -- Part II: The belief engine -- When seeing is believing -- Believing what we remember -- Believing what we learn and feel -- Thinking and believing -- Part III: Belief stability and change -- In the garden of belief -- Preserving the roses -- Tending and tilling -- Credulity and deceit -- Part IV: Knowing ourselves -- Beliefs about ourselves -- Not quite in our right minds -- Belief and well-being -- Belief and healing -- Folk remedies and alternative medicine -- Part V: Belief in a world beyond -- Magic and superstition -- The god engine -- Things that go bump in the night -- Illusory experience -- A caboodle of strange beliefs -- Part VI: Vetting belief -- A firewall to folly -- Notes -- Index. "An expert on the psychology of belief examines how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be. This book explores the psychology of belief - how beliefs are formed, how they are influenced both by internal factors, such as perception, memory, reason, emotion, and prior beliefs, as well as external factors, such as experience, identification with a group, social pressure, and manipulation. It also reveals how vulnerable beliefs are to error, and how they can be held with great confidence even when factually false. The author, a social psychologist who specializes in the psychology of belief, elucidates how the brain and nervous system function to create the perceptions, memories, and emotions that shape belief. He explains how and why distorted perceptions, false memories, and inappropriate emotional reactions that sometimes lead us to embrace false beliefs are natural products of mental functioning. He also shows why it is so difficult to change our beliefs when they collide with contradictions. Covering a wide range -- from self-perception and the perceived validity of everyday experience to paranormal, religious, and even fatal beliefs--the book demonstrates how crucial beliefs are to molding our experience and why they have such a powerful hold on our behavior"-- "An expert on the psychology of belief examines how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be"-- Part I: The Power of Belief Part II: The Belief Engine Part III: Belief Stability and Change Part IV: Knowing Ourselves Part V: Belief in a World Beyond Part VI: Vetting Belief. Belief to Die For When Seeing Is Believing Believing What We Remember Believing What We Learn and Feel Thinking and Believing In the Garden of Belief Preserving the Roses Tending and Tilling Credulity and Deceit Beliefs about Ourselves Not Quite in Our Right Minds Belief and Well-Being Belief and Healing Folk Remedies and Alternative Medicine Magic and Superstition The God Engine Things That Go Bump in the Night Illusory Experience A Caboodle of Strange Beliefs A Firewall to Folly.