Professor Stephan Lewandowsky
BA(Wash.College), MA(Tor.), PhD(Tor.)
Current positions
Chair in Cognitive Psychology
School of Psychological Science
Contact
Media contact
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Research interests
I am a cognitive scientist with an interest in computational modeling. That is, I try to understand how the mind works by writing computer simulations of our memory and decision-making processes. Recently, I have become interested in how people update their memories if things they believe turn out to be false. This has led me to examine the persistence of misinformation in society, and how myths and misinformation can spread. I have become particularly interested in the variables that determine whether or not people accept scientific evidence, for example surrounding vaccinations or climate science.
More biographical detail including a list of all my scholarly publications can be found on my academic homepage at www.cogsciWA.com.
I also blog at http://www.shapingtomorrowsworld.org/ on matters relating to climate change and global challenges. (On Twitter I am @STWorg).
I am also currently serving as Digital Content Editor for the Psychonomic Society and I blog routinely on cognitive research conducted by the Society at www.psychonomic.org.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Protecting the Democratic Information Space in Europe
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/10/2021 to 30/09/2026
JIU-JITSU WITH MISINFORMATION IN THE AGE OF COVID: USING REFUTATION-BASED LEARNING TO ENHANCE VACCINE UPTAKE AND KNOWLEDGE AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND THE PUBLIC
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/04/2021 to 31/03/2025
Reclaiming individual autonomy and democratic discourse online: How to rebalance human and algorithmic decision making
Principal Investigator
Description
In one corner is the online information architecture with sophisticated personalization algorithms and persuasive designs that shape people's information diets, often without their knowledge or input. In the other corner…Managing organisational unit
Department of Computer ScienceDates
01/03/2021 to 28/02/2025
Inoculating against the spread of Islamophobic and extremist Islamist disinformation
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/09/2019 to 31/08/2020
Neural signatures of misinformation effects in memory using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques
Principal Investigator
Description
The aim of this research is to use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to
identify the regions associated with processing of coherent narratives, such as short
stories, in particular those…Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/10/2013 to 31/12/2015
Publications
Selected publications
28/01/2016Future Global Change and Cognition
Topics in Cognitive Science
On the definition and identifiability of the alleged "hiatus" in global warming
Scientific Reports
Rational Irrationality
Topics in Cognitive Science
Recent publications
17/01/2022Believing in nothing and believing in everything: The underlying cognitive paradox of anti-COVID-19 vaccine attitudes
Personality and Individual Differences
Correcting Statistical Misinformation About Scientific Findings in the Media
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
The Psychological Drivers of Misinformation Belief and its Resistance to Correction
Nature Reviews Psychology
Letter to the Editors of Psychological Science: Boosting Scientific Consensus is Likely to Correct False Beliefs Across Domains
Psychological Science
Institutions Promoting or Countering Deliberate Ignorance
Deliberate ignorance: Choosing not to know
