And rather than contradicting them, we should suggest places where they can find out additional information. If we are talking to someone who’s uncertain about the vaccine we should try to be empathetic, actively listen, and focus on the benefits of taking it.
And it means ensuring doctors have a non-judgmental approach when they talk to patients who aren’t sure about taking them. Nor should there be public broadcasts from government ministers disparaging anti-vaccine views. We shouldn’t post on social media about how “idiotic” people who don’t take the vaccine are. This knowledge of the backfire effect should impact all of us, not just those directly connected to the rollout. In this case if people are pushed too hard and feel judged, they’ll look for reasons to avoid taking the vaccine. We often have a defence mechanism that leads us to actively search out information that shows we are right. It’s a human instinct that, if our strongest beliefs are directly challenged, we can end up believing them more firmly – what’s known as the backfire effect. We must avoid avoid directly confronting anti-vaxxers like this, or dismissing them as crazy or stupid. Though, instinctively, many of us would want to tell them they’re wrong, this is not the way to proceed.
Behavioural science can provide useful guidance.įirstly, and perhaps most importantly, we need to handle the anti-vaxxers the right way. It is therefore vital to plan ahead of the rollout in order to ensure as many people as possible take the vaccine. This resistance could potentially increase as confirmation bias – our tendency to search out and engage with content that affirms what we already believe – and polarising social media algorithms cause people to become more entrenched in their views.