# Cognitive Mechanisms of Belief Change Author: [[Aaron C.T. Smith]] ## Review I picked up this book because I am deeply interested in the formation and spread of belief systems. Beliefs shape how we act. Changes in our beliefs change our behaviour. If you want to understand how people's behaviour (including your own) change, a good place to start is with the mechanisms of belief change. The root of my interest stems from the socio-economic decisions that people make, and a necessary part of what I do is to understand what others believe and how they will act on that. However, I am not an expert or even well educated on this topic. There was a lot of nuance and complexity in the author's belief change model. There were sections that were difficult for me to follow, sometimes because the author tried too hard to finesse the prose with analogies and word play, but often I simply couldn't understand. The author covered a lot of content in the description of his belief change model but there are 4 major components, which each contain a few sub-components. Concepts are the representations of thoughts and beliefs in the mind. Due to its evolutionary origin, the mind has an affinity to some concepts over others. The stickiest concepts are those that are practical and useful, or trigger emotional reactions. Computation refers to the process that takes concepts and builds them into beliefs that create our inferences Although most beliefs start with a seed of beliefs, rituals and rehearsals can implant and strengthen beliefs. Acting out the symbolism of belief shapes our identities. Our newfound sense of belonging to a group that shares our beliefs also shapes our identity around those beliefs. Our beliefs can be deepened through reasoning and rationalization, highly charged emotional events which solidify them, or through challenge and defense. In the Commitment stage, the belief becomes deeper ingrained in our mind. The rewards escalate from extrinsic social to intrinsic psychological rewards. The belief system starts to shape our view of the world and can escalate to a philosophy that creates meaning in our life, the ultimate reward. Consequences are the changes that occur in our and others lives as a result of changes in beliefs. Rules are an outcome of beliefs that inform which thoughts and behaviours are appropriate. Beliefs also foster a better or worse cooperation among groups and socioeconomic results. Success can lead to the growth and propagation of beliefs. These are mutated in transmission as others adopt them and lead to innovations in beliefs. Throughout the book, there are many insights on how humans think. I really appreciated the attention on rationalizing beliefs that are useful and the impact that repetition has on belief formation. It aligns well with my observations that people will do what the intuitively or superficial think will benefit them, or what they are emotionally or socially pressured to do. They will rationalize and construct a narrative after the fact to support the behaviour. The belief change model also supports the historical research of Graeme Snooks, who believed cultures (shared belief systems) are created by socioeconomic strategies that are useful to the society. Beliefs drive behaviour most of the time, but the reverse can also be true but is less often discussed. I appreciate that this comes through in his research as well. I can recommend this book to people who are as interested in the mechanics of belief formation as I am, but this is a packed book and difficult to read sometimes. Not light reading for the casually interested reader. ## Key Ideas ## Related - [[Belief Formation]]