What Lessons Can We Draw from the Fact That Americans

question 29

Multiple Choice

What lessons can we draw from the fact that Americans believed that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction or that President Obama was foreign-born and ineligible to be President?

• A) Most Americans favor cognitive dissonance and those who believed such stories about Saddam Hussein and President Obama were a small fraction of the country.
• B) Americans tend to blindly follow opinion leaders because the lack of legitimate political information makes it hard for Americans to discover the truth.
• C) People tend to pay more attention and more credence to sources and information that confirm rather than challenge their beliefs.
• D) Americans will believe just about anything.

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Definitions:

Self-fulfilling

A prophecy or expectation that causes itself to become true due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.

DSM-5

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a comprehensive classification and diagnostic tool for mental disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association.

Diagnostic Labels

Terms or categories used to describe and classify mental health conditions and their symptoms.

Mental Health Professionals

Trained individuals who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health or to treat mental illnesses.