Ignorance Is Bliss

Decline of the Empire

You can't make this stuff up.

WASHINGTON—The less people know about important complex issues such as the economy, energy consumption and the environment, the more they want to avoid becoming well-informed, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. 
And the more urgent the issue, the more people want to remain unaware, according to a paper published online in APA’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology^®.
[Follow the link to read the paper (pdf warning).]
“These studies were designed to help understand the so-called ‘ignorance is bliss’ approach to social issues,” said author Steven Shepherd, a graduate student with the University of Waterloo in Ontario. “The findings can assist educators in addressing significant barriers to getting people involved and engaged in social issues.” 

You can regard this post as an adjunct to my important essay The Optimist's Brain. That article noted that humans normally deflect or bury unwanted, pessimistic (albeit realistic) inputs. What level of ignorance are we dealing with here?

Individuals are often confronted with information that they do not know how to comprehend or evaluate, even though this information can be of critical importance to the self (or society as a whole). In the case of energy, nearly 40% of respondents in a Public Agenda (2009) survey could not identify a fossil fuel. Nearly one third could not identify a renewable energy source and incorrectly believed that solar energy contributes to global warming. This lack of knowledge should be of concern to these individuals, as 89% of respondents worry about increasing fuel costs, and 71% worry about global warming.

Even I was taken aback by that stunning result—40% of those surveyed could not identify a single fossil fuel! One's ignorance on this subject could be remedied by asking Google what is a fossil fuel? It's that simple. Most of these ignorant humans undoubtedly have an opinion—it is often a strong opinion—about anthropogenic climate change.

We can learn more by reading the abstract (summation).

How do people cope when they feel uninformed or unable to understand important social issues, such as the environment, energy concerns, or the economy? Do they seek out information, or do they simply ignore the threatening issue at hand? One would intuitively expect that a lack of knowledge would motivate an increased, unbiased search for information, thereby facilitating participation and engagement in these issues—especially when they are consequential, pressing, and self-relevant.

I think these APA scientist guys need to get out of the house more, take off those white lab coats and stroll among the people, observing as they go. If they did, they would quickly discover that there's no reason whatsoever to expect that—intuitively or experientially—a lack of knowledge motivates an "unbiased" search for information. That might be the case for scientists in the general case, but this expectation certainly wouldn't apply to the man in the street (non-academics).

And of course "unbiased" research can hardly be said to exist. You might be amazed at the number of stories I don't cover on DOTE because a cursory investigation reveals that the story (or analysis) is simply bullshit (based on a false premise or alleged fact).

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