Social Status Affects Who We Choose to Believe

Whether or not more information and exposure has made humans more tolerant is open to debate. The evidence suggests that skepticism is probably in order.

We continue to be subject to biases based on a variety of inherent and learned responses. While in some societies race, religion and ethnicity may no longer carry either the stigma or allegiance they once did, in many places such beliefs remain strong. They are also supplemented by economic indices, which, given the premium current civilization places on wealth, would only be surprising if it were not the case.

As the following article explains, we continue to value social status, whatever the criteria on which it is based. There is probably a 'natural' predisposition based on historic norms borne of survival. But as the economy becomes ever more global and the need to accept or be accepted by differing cultures and assumptions, how we evaluate what status means and how we relate to it will both continue to evolve and continue to play an important role in our interrelationships. JL

Christie Nicholson reports in Scientific American:

A study finds that the social status of a speaker makes a significant difference in how we interpret statements they make.
Scientists showed participants clips of political statements, that were either true or false, made by a top politician, a news anchor or just your average joe. The participants also watched another set of videos, this time of the same people making true or false statements about general world information like, “Fidel Castro is a pop singer.”
The subjects were more likely to accept the false statement coming from the political figure as opposed to the other speakers (including the news anchor!) However, participants did not accept any false world knowledge statements from any of the speakers. Brain recordings of the subjects reveal that their impressions of the speaker and what he or she says, happens fast, within 150-450 milliseconds, which is within average reflex reaction time for humans. The study is in the journal PLoS One.