Belief Perseverance and Self-Defeating Behavior

Abstract

in this chapter, we explore ways in which beliefs persist in light of new information and in spite of the discrediting of old information / we see how people often are insensitive to information in the environment, yet ironically, they perceive evidence to support their beliefs when none actually exists / we examine how beliefs can take on a life of their own, no longer in need of the evidence that gave them birth / throughout the chapter we relate these processes to such problems as depression and loneliness, problems in which the persistence of maladaptive beliefs plays an integral role / we also comment on how an understanding of these issues suggests ways in which incorrect beliefs and self-defeating behaviors may be overcome (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)