This document discusses cultural cognition and decision-making regarding scientific and health issues. It explains that people tend to process information in a biased way that protects their cultural identities and worldviews. Those with individualist perspectives may dismiss environmental and technology risks, while those with egalitarian views more readily believe commerce and industry cause harm. The document uses the example of the HPV vaccine, and asks how identity-protective cognition can be seen in competing claims about its risks. It also questions how effectively the manufacturer Merck communicated the need for its HPV vaccine, Gardasil.

1. Cultural Cognition and Decision-making
The Perils and Pitfalls of Communicating about
Risky Scientific Issues

2. In-class writing:
Think of all the decisions you’ve made relative to
scientific or health-related issues.
Then take 5 minutes and write about something
you’ve decided is too risky to do or not do, and one
thing you’ve decided is not risky enough to stop
doing, regardless of a certain amount of scientific
consensus about the its riskiness. What factored into
your decision?
E.g. JN: recycling & anti-perspirant

3. Two main foibles of human reason (according to
Kahan et al): identity-protective cognition and
culturally motivated perceptions of risk. How do
your own actions associated with perceptions of
risk reflect these?

4. “people who are the most scientifically literate [are] the most
polarized on disputed forms of decision-relevant science”(Kahan,
“Misinformation” 3).
Types of Identify-Protecting Cognition:
• self-misinformation
• searching for information that corresponds with
already-held beliefs
• biased assimilation of information
• “backfiring” and retrenchment into original
position when presented with information

5. Typical manifestation of IPC:

6. Types of
Cultural
Cognition

8. “Thus, persons who subscribe to an ‘individualist’ worldview
react dismissively to claims of environmental and
technological risks, social recognition of which would
threaten markets and other forms of private ordering.
Persons attracted to ‘egalitarian’ and ‘communitarian’
worldviews, in contrast, readily credit claims of
environmental risk: they find it congenial to believe that
commerce and industry, activities they associate with
inequity and selfishness, cause social harm”(Kahan et al,
“Who Fears,” 5).

9. HPV vaccine: what types of identity-protecting
cognition do you see in competing claims?

11. Given these competing concerns about risk, how do you
think Merck did at communicating the need for
Gardasil?

12. Questions to ask about stakeholders,
risk, and communication (as the basis
of your communication plan):
• How do stakeholders assess the risk of a scientific issue?
• What role can communication about the issue play in helping
them assess this risk?
• What sources of information do they currently tend to rely on
to help them make decisions?
• What solution(s) to the issue would they find acceptable, and
which would be unacceptable?
• What appeals could be made to help convince them of the
need for a particular solution?
• What channels of communication would be most effective for
these stakeholders?