4. When is something deemed credible?

We can look at the credibility of a statement itself, but also at the credibility of the source from which a statement comes. It is important to know that credibility comes in gradations. Credibility is therefore not an all-or-nothing principle. Sources (often people) are not all equally credible. A person's credibility can also be reduced, for example when you hear that someone has a criminal record - or it can become larger because you hear that someone, for instance, has a master’s degree in neuropsychology.

In general, the following can be said about a claim; a statement can be considered as unbelievable when the content of the statement is in contrast with was we already know (background knowledge), or if the source of the statement has an interest in whether or not you believe the statement.

We therefore pay attention to these factors if we want to determine whether someone is credible. Unfortunately, we often base our judgment on characteristics that do not matter, such as age, gender, origin, accent, clothing and height. In fact, we should not base our judgment on someone's credibility on these factors. It is important to remember some rules of thumb when talking about credibility:

• "Interested parties" are less credible than other sources
• If both the claim itself and the source (where the claim comes from) are not credible, then the claim must be distrusted. It is therefore important to consider two things: (1) the content of a statement itself and (2) where the statement comes from (the source).
• A statement is not very credible if it does not match our observations, our (background) knowledge and / or other credible statements.

How are observations influenced?

We distrust claims that do not match our observations. For example, if we have just seen Mr. X's red car and Mr. Y says that Mr. X has a blue car, then we don't think Mr. Y is very credible and thus in the future, we will not trust everything Mr. Y says either.

Our observations are influenced by all kinds of factors: fatigue, distraction, worries about another event and emotional problems. Our observations are also influenced by our personal interests and cognitive biases (discussed earlier in Chapter 1). There are also factors in the outside world that can influence our observations: the amount of light and the amount of sound around us as well as the speed of events. In addition, our observations are also influenced by our expectations and fears. If you hear that mice have been seen in the flat in which you live, you soon think that you yourself have mice in your house (for example, if you see something move in the corner of your eye while you're sitting on the couch). Our observations are also influenced by personal interests and thinking errors.

What effects does our own background knowledge have?

When we talk about background knowledge, we are talking about our beliefs that consist of facts that we have observed and learned. Much of our background knowledge is confirmed by multiple sources. We do not believe statements that contradict our background knowledge. When we hear a statement for the first time, we first try to find out how credible this statement is ("initial plausibility"). If it appears that a statement does not contradict our background knowledge, then the statement has average credibility for us. However, if it appears that the claim is contradictory to our background knowledge, we then assign a low credibility to the claim. Only if very strong evidence is given for the claim we will believe that the claim is true.

What is meant by the credibility of sources?

It is important to make a distinction between interested parties and uninterested parties. An interested party consists of people who benefit when their claims are believed by others. An uninterested party consists of people who do not necessarily benefit when their claims are believed by others.

As humans, we also pay attention to the physical appearance of the other party. If someone is nervous, this person does not look at you or looks away often - then we are more likely to believe that someone is lying. If the person is confident and attractive, we are more likely to believe them.

If a claim comes from a party that has an interest in believing the claim, then we must distrust that party immediately. Yet it can also happen that such a claim is true. When we talk about credibility of a source, we can talk about two things: (1) whether the source has enough knowledge about the subject he or she is talking about and (2) whether the source is reliable, objective and accurate. Whether someone has enough knowledge about a subject depends on someone's expertise and experience. We assess expertise based on a person's education, experience, performance, reputation and position. A person's achievements are only important if these achievements are related in a relevant way to what he or she claims. This also applies to experience. It is important to remember that if someone is an expert in a certain area, this does not necessarily mean that he is an expert in all areas. A physicist is not necessarily an expert in everything science for example.

What effect does the media have?

One of the reasons why the quality of the news has declined in the recent decade is because of the fact that, for instance, television channels in America are now owned by only a handful of large companies. It is therefore important to be critical of the news messages that are shown by different channels. It often happens that the media uses political views to interpret news items. That is why it is important to remember the following things.

1. People in the media make mistakes, just like we do. Sometimes they accept claims that are not credible or that cannot be proven, or they present something that is not necessarily true but that helps their own (political) agenda move forward.
2. The media can experience pressure from the government and from other news sources. The media are also sensitive to manipulation. In addition, because it is only about 5 companies that control 90% of the media, the news and / or entertainment that is presented may also be related to the personal agenda of the company.
3. In recent years, the (American) government is also busy spreading more and more false information. This varies from reports on drug tests and military operations to the safety of recently introduced measures. This kind of "fake news" is especially common on small channels that really need every bit of money they can get and therefore accept this information. People who produce opinion pieces or columns can also be bought off and therefore present an opinion that is not their own.
4.  Most media are also politically coloured. Whether they are left, right or neutral does not matter in these cases, but we must keep in mind that we humans are inclined to look for information that matches our opinion and that therefore not everything that is going on in the world will be represented be in just a single media outlet.
5. The internet is also a great source of information for many people today. But one must also remember that anyone who wants to can put a piece on the internet and present it as "true" news. Take Wikipedia for example. Wikipedia is one of the largest sources of information on the internet, and the information it provides is often very close to reality and diverse. This is because literally one hundred thousand people can work on a single article. So you can too. And if you decide to put a lot of nonsense somewhere, it will take a few days before an actual check comes over it. And in those few days, a whole bunch of people can read it and consider it "true." The same goes for blogs. A blog is literally someone's opinion or experience about a certain situation - so it doesn't have to be a valid truth.

What are the pros and cons of the internet?

Although the internet offers great benefits, the information we get from it must be carefully analysed. There are two types of information sources on the internet: institutional / commercial sources (government agencies, news organizations) and individual sources / group sites (everything else). Wikipedia is a site where everyone can contribute; as a result, the quality of the information can vary drastically. It is a good starting point for generic knowledge, but you must always go back to the source of the information and it should never be your only source. Blogs are 'diaries' on the internet on all sorts of topics. People can put whatever they want, so you have to be extremely critical about that. This too should never be your only source and you should always check the source of the blog.

Advertisements

Advertising is made to sell all kinds of products. These days, this is being done in an increasingly sophisticated way. Advertising creators know how the human mind works and use this knowledge when creating commercials or advertisements. They know what people are sensitive to and how they can ensure that people still buy their product. Because of this, people often even buy things they don't even need.

There are two types of commercials:

1. Advertising spots in which reasons are given to purchase a product
2. Advertising spots in which no reasons are given for purchasing a product.

The commercials from the second category can be divided into three categories:

1. Pathos: commercials that unleash feelings within us (humour, beautiful music, heart-warming scenes);
2. Ethos: Advertising spots that show that people we admire also use the product (for example, by showing movie stars in a commercial), and;
3. Logos: Commercial spots about the factual information of the product, presented in a positive light.

Of course it is also possible to combine two or all of these options.

What should you pay attention to when advertising?

Advertisements try to persuade us into all kinds of behaviours and actions: the purchase of a new TV cabinet, voting for a local politician, stopping a bad habit, etc. Advertisers are more than happy to know our fears and use these against us, they know our needs and respond to them.

Advertisers who give us reasons for purchasing a product often tell us something about the product, but not much. The promises made by the seller in many cases offer no guarantee and remain a bit vague. In some cases, the message with which the advertiser wants to convince us is even misleading.

Advertisements that give reasons for purchasing something do never actually justify a purchase of something. Even though it may give you reasons to do so, it is still you who decides to actually buy that specific product. They can, however, influence our choice and adjust our reasoning for purchasing a product or not.

Practice questions

1. In which three cases do claims lack credibility?
2. Which factor determines whether the source has enough knowledge about the subject?
3. What is one of the reasons that the quality of the news has declined?
4. Which three things are important to know about the credibility of the media?
5. Which three categories exist of commercials that do not use reasons to make us buy a certain product?

Answers practice questions

1. Claims fall short of credibility when they (1) contradict our observations, (2) do not match our experiences or our background knowledge, or (3) come from unreliable sources.
2. Whether a source has enough knowledge about a subject depends on someone's expertise and experience.
3. One of the reasons why the quality of the news has decreased is that television channels in America are now owned by a small number of cooperatives.
4. It is important to keep an eye on the following three things about the credibility of the media: (1) people in the media make mistakes, just like we do; (2) the media can experience pressure from the government and are sensitive to manipulation; and (3) most media want to make a profit.
5. Commercials in which no reasons are given for us to buy a product consist of three categories: (1) commercials that unleash feelings within us, (2) commercials that show that people we admire use the product, and (3) commercials that show a product in a situation that we would like to find ourselves in.