New College, Oxford

|| New Publication (Nature Communications) "Psychological Booster Shots Targeting Memory Increase Long-Term Resistance Against Misinformation" https://lnkd.in/eNg5t_uU Press Release https://lnkd.in/eTAMntHv In five preregistered longitudinal experiments (US; N = 11,759), we test the long-term effectiveness of inoculation in text-based, gamified, and video-based interventions, shed light on the underlying mechanisms, and propose ways to boost the long-term effectiveness. Key findings: * Inoculation interventions work well * Effects dissipate rapidly due to forgetting (memory) * Booster shots can improve the longevity *What is inoculation?* Inoculation interventions increase people's cognitive immunity against misinformation and boost the detection manipulative content. It works by proactively making people familiar with the underlying techniques used in misinformation and disinformation campaigns so that when they encounter it, they are not as easily influenced by it. => For an overview of some of our inoculation interventions, see: https://lnkd.in/ed-Gqmed. *Why do effects decay?* For a long time, it was thought that one of the driving mechanisms of inoculation effects is people's motivation to defend themselves: after going through a somewhat "threatening" inoculation intervention, they feel ready to apply their knowledge and dissect misinformation, remembering the warning conveyed by the training. Over time, then, this motivation might dissipate and with it the inoculation effects. => In this paper, however, we found evidence that more important for the long-term effectiveness of inoculation, is how well people remember what they have learned in the intervention. In fact, motivation was not a good predictor for effect longevity at all in our studies. *Can we boost the effects?* The good news is that our work also shows that you can meaningfully boost the effect of inoculation interventions. This can be done for example by testing people on their newly learned skills (e.g., quizzing) or by repeating the intervention (in full or shortened form), and works especially well if the booster focuses on strengthening the memory of what was learned (e.g., the quiz can give immediate feedback after each question, reminding participants of what they have learned in the inoculation treatment). Based on the new memory-motivation model of inoculation we propose in the paper, we even predict that after a couple of memory boosters, the effect might last for months or even years, similar to when you learn anything multiple times (every time you learn it, the forgetting is less steep). A special thanks to my brilliant co-authors, Jon Roozenbeek, Jon Simons, Stephan Lewandowsky, Vanessa Maturo, Beth Goldberg, Rachel Xu, and Sander van der Linden. And to New College, Oxford, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge, for supporting my work.

The final talk in the MEGA Green Tech Series is being held at 5:30 pm tomorrow, Thursday 13 March, at New College, Oxford. This week’s topic is #Decarbonising Industry. The ZERO Institute has been delighted to support this debut #student-led talk series. Oxford Climate Society

At its 40th annual dinner, the Johnson and Chesterton Club of Oxford, a literary society dedicated to preserving and advancing the philosophical and literary legacies of two great English men of letters, Samuel Johnson and G.K. Chesterton, conferred upon Mr. Hassan Hamed, Head Butler of New College, its Francis Barber Award for Distinguished Service. The Barber Award was presented to Mr. Hamed by Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and one of the Club’s founding members. Professor George noted that Mr. Hamed was only the second person to receive this honor, the first being the late Signor Antonio Lopez, proprietor of Restaurant Elizabeth, which was for decades regarded as Oxford’s premier fine dining establishment. Praising Mr. Hamed’s dedication to the highest standards of excellence in hospitality, Professor George noted that “he has for two-and-a-half decades served the Johnson and Chesterton Club at its annual dinners in New College with dedication, efficiency, and graciousness.” The plaque given to Mr. Hamed (pictured here) bears the club’s symbol: an orange and a dandelion. The orange represents Samuel Johnson. A mystery about the eminent 18th century lexicographer and writer is that he would, after an evening of dining at his club, gather the peels from oranges that had been eaten at dessert and take them home with him. The dandelion represents G.K. Chesterton. A famous photograph of the 20th century novelist and essayist—a massive man, 6 feet 4 inches in height and 350 pounds—shows a tiny girl, perhaps three years old, handing him the gift of a dandelion flower. Hassan dedicated his Award to his family, his team, and the catering department of New College, Oxford.