When it comes to your health, you want to use every helpful fact and figure out there. But are you putting too much stock in the wrong stats? People think medical info that looks scientific is more effective—even if it’s useless , suggests new research from Cornell University.
In the study, 97 percent of people who saw a write-up for a fictional medication along with a graph believed that the drug would be successful. However, when another group of people only saw the written text, less than two thirds believed the drug would work.
The graph didn’t provide any additional info, and it didn’t help people retain what they read or understand it any better. But because the image looked scientific, it made the participants more likely to believe in it.
“On some level, you’re thinking that this must be science and therefore true,” explains study author Aner Tal, Ph.D. “It’s the same reason companies use actors dressed up as doctors to present things. It makes it seem credible.”
Researchers plan to look into the potential ways people can guard against such cues. But in the meantime, be aware of their effects: You probably won’t be able to block out these graphics once you see them, but research where they come from before you accept them as fact, Tal says.
On the flipside, if you want to be a little more persuasive, feel free to pepper your next presentation with all sorts of charts and graphs. Your audience will eat them up.
