Study: Dogmatic People Seek Less Information Even When Uncertain by Erik Lane | Nov 23, 2020 | DJ Blogs, Erik | 0 comments Over the Thanksgiving holiday, you may encounter a few family members or friends who are “dogmatic” about their opinions. People who are unshakable in their views, or dogmatic, tend to seek out less information and make less accurate judgements as a result, finds a new study. German researchers note that dogmatic people are characterized by a belief that their worldview reflects the absolute truth, and are often resistant to change their mind. They found when dogmatic people were faced with an uncertain situation, they were more likely to decline helpful, additional information that would aid them in figuring it out. Senior study author Dr. Steve Fleming adds, “Previous work has found that there is a close link between how confident we feel and whether or not we seek out new information. In the current study we found that this link was weaker in more dogmatic individuals.” Another researcher adds, “[…] it’s a cautionary tale, whether we think of ourselves as dogmatic or not: when uncertain, it might be wise to check the information again.”
