Hosted by the School of Psychological Science
Abstract: Belief in vaccine misinformation has detrimental effects on immunisation programmes, necessitating tools to combat its influence on the public. However, the same factors that intensify beliefs in misinformation—such as a lack of trust in medical authorities—can also hinder the ability to refute it. In this talk, I will share a novel, multi-component intervention that can be used by healthcare professionals to address false or misleading anti-vaccination arguments while maintaining empathy for and understanding of people’s motivations to believe misinformation: the “Empathetic Refutational Interview” (ERI). I will talk about how we developed the intervention, from its theoretical background based on misinformation research and vaccine communication strategies, to testing it in psychological experiments with over 2,500 participants, and finally towards its implementation as a tool for healthcare professionals.