Countering antivaccination attitudes

Zachary Horne; Derek Powell; John E Hummel; Keith J Holyoak

doi:10.1073/pnas.1504019112

Countering antivaccination attitudes

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Aug 18;112(33):10321-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1504019112. Epub 2015 Aug 3.

Authors

Zachary Horne¹, Derek Powell², John E Hummel³, Keith J Holyoak²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61802; horne2@illinois.edu.
² Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61802;

Abstract

Three times as many cases of measles were reported in the United States in 2014 as in 2013. The reemergence of measles has been linked to a dangerous trend: parents refusing vaccinations for their children. Efforts have been made to counter people's antivaccination attitudes by providing scientific evidence refuting vaccination myths, but these interventions have proven ineffective. This study shows that highlighting factual information about the dangers of communicable diseases can positively impact people's attitudes to vaccination. This method outperformed alternative interventions aimed at undercutting vaccination myths.

Keywords: attitude change; belief revision; science education; vaccination.

MeSH terms

Adult
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.
Child
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Immunization Programs / methods*
Male
Measles / prevention & control
Measles Vaccine
Middle Aged
Parents / psychology*
Patient Education as Topic / methods*
Perception
Risk
United States
Vaccination / psychology*
Vaccination / statistics & numerical data

Substances

Measles Vaccine