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{{short description|Social psychologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Sander van der Linden
| name = Sander van der Linden
| image = Van_der_Linden_@_Hay.jpg
| image=TED.png
| caption = van der Linden at [[TEDx]] [[Oxbridge]] 2017
| caption = Van der Linden in 2019
| fields = {{Plainlist|
| image_size = 260
⚫
| fields = {{Plainlist|
* [[Social Psychology]]
* [[Behavioral Science]]
* [[Social psychology]]
* [[Decision-Making]] }}
* [[Behavioral science]]
* [[Decision-making]] }}
| residence = [[Cambridge]], [[England]], [[UK]]
| nationality = [[Netherlands]]
| known_for = [[Gateway belief model]], [[Bad News (video game)]]
| nationality = Dutch
⚫
| workplaces = {{Plainlist|
| workplaces = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Cambridge]] 2016–<br />
* [[University of Cambridge]]
* [[Yale University]]
* [[Yale University]]
* [[Princeton University]] }}
* [[Princeton University]] }}
| alma_mater = [[London School of Economics and Political Science]] [[LSE]] Ph.D., 2014
| alma_mater = [[London School of Economics and Political Science]]
| thesis_title = The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study
| doctoral_advisor = [[Anthony Leiserowitz]]
| thesis_url = http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/896
| academic_advisors = [[Eldar Shafir]] [[Ragnar Löfstedt]]
| awards = {{Plainlist|
| thesis_year = 2014
⚫
}}
* [[Frank Prize]] (2017)
* [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts |FRSA]] (2017)
* [[President's Volunteer Service Award |PVSA]] (2008)
⚫
| website = http://www.sdmlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk
⚫
}}


'''Sander van der Linden''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSA}} (born 8 March 1986), is a [[Netherlands|Dutch]]-born [[social psychologist]] in the Department of Psychology at the [[University of Cambridge]] where he directs the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Laboratory.<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite web |url= http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/sander-van-der-linden|title=Sander van der Linden's Cambridge University Department Page |work= |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="IMDB">{{cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7500079/|title=Sander van der Linden at the Internet Movie Database | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> He is also a Fellow of [[Churchill College, Cambridge]]<ref name="Churchill">{{cite web |url=https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/sander-van-der-linden/ |title= Fellows of Churchill College |format= |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>, a researcher at the [[Yale Program on Climate Change Communication]] at [[Yale University]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/people-partners/|title=Sander van der Linden's Profile at Yale University | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> and a psychologist at the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/people|title=Sander van der Linden's Profile at Winton | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>
'''Sander L. van der Linden''' is a Dutch [[social psychologist]] and author who is [[Professor]] of Social Psychology at the [[University of Cambridge]]. He studies the psychology of [[social influence]], risk, human judgment, and [[decision-making]]. He is particularly known for his research on the psychology of social issues, such as [[fake news]],<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181114-could-this-game-be-a-vaccine-against-fake-news|title= Could this be the cure for fake news? |publisher= BBC |access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> [[COVID-19]],<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/tackling-covid-19-dr-sander-van-der-linden|title= Tackling COVID-19 Dr Sander van der Linden |publisher= [[University of Cambridge]] |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref> and [[climate change]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/11/30/457835780/how-psychology-can-save-the-world-from-climate-change?t=1551918490860|title= How Psychology can Save the World from Climate Change|publisher= NPR |access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref>


He has written books for general audiences, including ''[[Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity]]'', which is about the psychology of misinformation and fake news.
He is also a [[public speaker]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://conwayhall.org.uk/event/beating-hell-fake-news/|title= Public Lecture at Conway Hall Ethical Society |work= |accessdate=26 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.tedxoxbridge.org/speakers|title= Why We Disagree About Facts |publisher= [[TEDx]] |accessdate=26 May 2017}}</ref> and [[popular science]] writer<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/sander-van-der-linden/|title=Sander van der Linden at Scientific American Mind |work= |accessdate=26 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/socially-relevant|title=Sander van der Linden at Psychology Today |work= |accessdate=26 May 2017}}</ref> and his work is regularly quoted in outlets such as the [[New York Times]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/why-misleading-americans-about-climate-change-is-dangerous/?mwrsm=Email&_r=2/|title= Why Misleading Americans about Climate Change is Dangerous|publisher= The New York Times |accessdate=24 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/magazine/the-ice-bucket-racket.html?_r=0|title = The Ice-Bucket Racket |publisher= The New York Times |accessdate=22 May 2017}}</ref>, the [[BBC]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38714404|title= Cambridge scientists consider fake news vaccine |publisher= BBC News |accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03bhwh5|title= Could the Cumbria floods make us greener? |publisher= BBC All in the Mind |accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref>, [[NPR]] <ref name="NPR">{{cite web |url= http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/11/30/457835780/how-psychology-can-save-the-world-from-climate-change|title = How Psychology can Save the World from Climate Change | publisher= NPR |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="NPR2">{{cite web |url= http://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/building-an-immunity-to-fake-news/|title = Building an Immunity to Fake News | publisher= NPR [[Science Friday]] |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>, [[Time Magazine]] <ref>{{cite web |url= http://time.com/4439610/gun-control-opinion/|title= Most Americans Think Their Opinion on Guns is Widely Shared |publisher= Time Magazine |accessdate=20 May 2017}}</ref>, and the [[Washington Post]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/26/can-this-gateway-belief-get-people-to-accept-climate-change/?utm_term=.e30ab5766c35|title = Researchers Think They've Found a Gateway Belief that Leads to Greater Science Acceptance | publisher= The Washington Post |accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref>. He was awarded fellowship to the Royal Society of Arts ([[RSA]]) for having made prominent contributions to social change change research<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/news/2017/may/24/sander-van-der-linden-elected-RSA/|title= Van der Linden Elected Fellow of RSA | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> and previously nominated as one of the "30 Top Thinkers under 30" by [[Pacific Standard]] Magazine."<ref name="Cambridge"/>


⚫
==Education ==
Van der Linden studies the psychology of social influence, risk, communication, judgment, and decision-making.<ref name="Conversation">{{cite web |url= https://theconversation.com/profiles/sander-van-der-linden-248869|title=Sander van der Linden Biography at the Conversation |publisher= The Conversation |accessdate=26 May 2017}}</ref> His research on the psychology of [[climate change]] has been described as "[[seminal]]."<ref name="Stirling">{{cite web |url=http://economicspsychologypolicy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-works-of-dr-sander-van-der-linden.html|title= The works of Dr. van der Linden | publisher = Stirling Behavioural Science Blog | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>
Van der Linden earned his undergraduate degree from the [[University of Amsterdam]] and [[California State University, Chico]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sander van der Linden|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/profile/sander-van-der-linden/|publisher=Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> He received his Ph.D. from the [[London School of Economics and Political Science]]<ref name="Cambridge"/> in 2014 with a thesis titled "The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study",<ref>{{cite thesis|last=van der Linden|first=Sander|date=2014|title=The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study|type=PhD|publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/896/|access-date=2 November 2021}}</ref> and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at [[Princeton University]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}


==Career==
Van der Linden is Professor of Social Psychology in society in the Department of Psychology at the [[University of Cambridge]], England where he has directed the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Laboratory since 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/archived-news/2016/the-department-welcomes-dr-sander-van-der-linden|title= Department Welcomes Dr. van der Linden |access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref> He is also a fellow at [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], a research affiliate of the [[Yale Program on Climate Change Communication]] at [[Yale University]] and the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge.<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite web |url= http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/sander-van-der-linden|title=Sander van der Linden's Cambridge University Department Page |date=6 September 2016 |access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref>


He serves on the editorial board of ''[[Psychology, Public Policy, and Law]]'', ''[[Personality and Individual Differences]]'', ''Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology'', and the ''[[Journal of Risk Research]]''.<ref name="EditorialPPL">{{cite book |url=https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/law/?tab=2|title= Psychology, Public Policy, and Law| publisher = APA| access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="EditorialPAID">{{cite web |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/personality-and-individual-differences/editorial-board|title= Personality and Individual Differences | publisher = Elsevier | access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="EditorialJRR">{{cite web |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=editorialBoard&journalCode=rjrr20|title= Journal of Risk Research| publisher = Taylor & Francis | access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="EditorialSEP">{{cite web |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-research-in-ecological-and-social-psychology/editorial-board/sander-van-der-linden-phd|title= Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology| publisher = Elsevier| access-date=13 January 2023}}</ref>
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==Education and Background==
Van der Linden was born in [[Waalwijk]] the [[Netherlands]], where he grew up [[Jewish]]<ref name="IMDB"/>. In a recent interview, van der Linden revealed that much of his family was executed during [[WW II]], which inspired him to pursue his interest in the psychology of human cooperation, behavior, and decision-making<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vimeo.com/206483136|title=Seven Minutes in Heaven with a Scientist | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>. He started his PhD at the the [[London School of Economics and Political Science]], but soon moved to work on the psychology of risk with [[Anthony Leiserowitz]] at [[Yale University]]<ref name="Stirling"/><ref name="Cambridge"/>. Leiserowitz himself was a student of [[Paul Slovic]]. In 2014, van der Linden moved to the Department of Psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at [[Princeton University]] to work with [[Eldar Shafir]] at the [[Kahneman]] Center for Behavioral Science<ref>{{cite web |url= http://edm.princeton.edu/people|title=Sander van der Linden's Princeton University Page |work= |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="Conversation"/>. At Princeton, van der Linden was a Fellow of [[Mathey College]], alongside other notable colleagues, such as [[Susan Fiske]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://matheycollege.princeton.edu/people/faculty-and-fellows/fellows|title= Mathey Fellows |work= |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>. Van der Linden moved his lab to join the University of Cambridge in 2016<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/archived-news/2016/the-department-welcomes-dr-sander-van-der-linden|title= Department Welcomes Dr. van der Linden |work= |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>.


He was the [[editor-in-chief]] of the ''[[Journal of Environmental Psychology]]'' from 2018 to 2021.<ref name="EditorialJEP">{{cite web |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-environmental-psychology/|title= Journal of Environmental Psychology| publisher = Elsevier | access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>
==Fake News Vaccine==
Van der Linden achieved particular notariety<ref>{{cite web |url= http://cambridge105.co.uk/cambridge-minds-26-02-2017/|title=Cambridge Minds: Sander van der Linden |publisher= Cambridge 105 radio |accessdate=26 May 2017}}</ref> with a study <ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = van der Linden | first1 = S. | last2 = Leiserowitz| first2 = A. | last3 = Rosenthal | first3 = S. | last4 = Maibach| first4 = E. | title = Inoculating the Public Against Misinformation about Climate Change| doi = 10.1002/gch2.201600008| journal = Global Challenges 1(2) | year = 2017}}</ref> in which he and his co-authors developed what the media described as a "Psychological Vaccine Against Fake News". <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/01/23/psychological-vaccine-may-protect-against-fake-news-alternative-facts/&refURL=&referrer=#114a9436bc1a|title = Psychological Vaccine May Protect Against Fake News, Alternative Facts| publisher= [[Forbes Magazine]]|accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-fake-news-vaccine-20170126-story.html |title = It's Possible to Vaccinate Americans Against Fake News, Experiment Shows| publisher= [[LA Times]]|accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> The vaccine metaphor is based on a psychological concept known as [[inoculation theory]]. According to [[Altmetrics]], the study was covered by about 100 news outlets around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://wiley.altmetric.com/details/15685265/news|title= Altmetric Scores |publisher= Altmetric |accessdate=22 May 2017}}.</ref> Van der Linden and colleagues have appeared on NPR's [[Science Friday]] to talk about the study<ref name="NPR2"/> and BBC World News<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.sandervanderlinden.com/videos|title = BBC World News | publisher= BBC |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>. Van der linden also appears in a number of documentaries <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6TXwx2fM_k&feature=youtu.be|title = Kobra TV | publisher= [[SVT]] |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> and in an initiative from [[The Economist]] to help teach young people how to spot fake news<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iEjQOi5qBk|title = How to Spot Fake News| publisher= [[The Economist]] |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>. On the invitation of United Nation's Special Rapporteur [[David Kaye]], van der Linden spoke at [[Wilton Park]] about the psychology of fake news.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sdmlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk/events/wiltonpark|title = Fake News: Innocuous or Intolerable? | publisher= [[Cambridge University]] |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/event/wp1542/|title = Fake News: Innocuous or Intolerable? WP1542| publisher= [[Wilton Park]] |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>


==Notable Research and Theories==
==Research contributions==
Van der Linden's work on the psychology of climate change has received widespread attention. <ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = van der Linden | first1 = S. | last2 = Maibach| first2 = E. | last3 = Leiserowitz| first3 = A. | title = How to Engage the Public With Climate Change: Five "Best Practice" Insights from Psychological Science| doi = 10.1002/gch2.201600008| journal = Perspectives on Psychological Science 10(6) | year = 2015}}</ref><ref name="NPR"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/researchgate/why-we-dont-worry-more-ab_b_9856402.html|title = Why We Don't Worry More about Climate Change | publisher= Huffington Post |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> Other notable work by van der Linden includes the psychological factors that cause altruistic behaviors to go viral and discovery that viral social movements such as the ALS [[Ice Bucket Challenge]] tend to have a short "half-life".<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = van der Linden | first1 = S. | title = The Nature of Viral Altruism and How to Make it Stick | doi = 10.1038/s41562-016-0041| journal = Nature Human Behaviour | year = 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fundraising-crazes-driven-by-narcissism-g9f8sjh5k|title = Fundraising Craze Driven by Narcissism | publisher= The Times |accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-surprisingly-short-life-of-viral-social-movements/|title = The Surprisingly Short Half-Life of Viral Social Movements| publisher= Scientific American |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> He also coined the term; the [[Conspiracy effect]] <ref name=conspiracy-effect>{{cite journal|author=van der Linden, Sander|title=The Conspiracy-Effect: Exposure to Conspiracy Theories (about Global Warming) Decrease Pro-Social Behavior and Science Acceptance |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |date=2015|volume=87|pages=171–173|doi=10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.045}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/08/what-do-conspiracy-theories-do-to-us.html|title = What Do Conspiracy Theories Do To US | publisher= New York Magazine |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>, which describes public exposure to [[conspiracy theories]] as a social contagion. Van der Linden is also one of the main authors and proponents of a social-psychological theory of judgment and opinion formation known as the [[Gateway Belief Model]] (GBM).


===Misinformation ===
==Honors and Awards==


Van der Linden is most well-known for his research program that looks at how to protect people from [[fake news]] and [[misinformation]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ortiz|first=Diego|year=2018|title=Could this be the cure for fake news?|journal=BBC Future|url =https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181114-could-this-game-be-a-vaccine-against-fake-news}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Robson|first=David|year=2020|title=Vaccinating against viruses of the mind |journal=British Psychological Association|url =https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/summer-2020/vaccinating-against-viruses-mind}}</ref> The research draws on [[inoculation theory]] where, following the biomedical analogy, forewarning people and exposing them to a severely weakened dose of fake news can generate psychological resistance against it.<ref>{{cite book |last= van der Linden |first= Sander | year = 2023 | title=Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity |url= https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/foolproof-why-we-fall-for-misinformation-and-how-to-build-immunity-sander-van-der-linden?variant=39973011980366 |location= London, UK |publisher= 4th Estate/HarperCollins |page= 336 |isbn=9780008466718}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change |journal=Global Challenges |volume=1|pages=1600008: 1–7 |year=2017 |last1=van der Linden |first1=Sander |last2=Leiserowitz |first2=Anthony |last3=Rosenthal |first3=Seth |last4=Maibach |first4=Edward |issue=2 |doi=10.1002/gch2.201600008|pmid=31565263 |pmc=6607159 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Maertens| first1 = R| last2 = Roozenbeek| first2 = J| last3 = Basol | first3 = M| last4 = van der Linden | first4 = S | year = 2020| title = Long-term effectiveness of inoculation against misinformation: Three longitudinal experiments | url = https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?10.1037%2Fxap0000315| journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied | volume = 27| issue = 1| pages = 1–16| doi =10.1037/xap0000315| issn=1076-898X | pmid = 33017160| s2cid = 222148288}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Roozenbeek|first1=J|last2=van der Linden|first2=S|year=2019|title=Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation|journal=Palgrave Communications|volume=5|issue=65|doi=10.1057/s41599-019-0279-9|s2cid=195329457|doi-access=free}}</ref>
*[[Frank Prize]] for research in the Public Interest (2017)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://frank.jou.ufl.edu/2017/01/2017-prize-research/|title= Frank Research prize | accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>
*[[Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts]] (2017)<ref name="Churchill"/>
*[[President's Volunteer Service Award]] (Gold Medal, 2008)<ref name="Cambridge"/>
*[[American Psychological Association]] Graduate Research Prize (2014)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/slinden/files/apa_monitor3.png|title = APA Honors Psychology's Best | publisher= APA |accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref>
*[[Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues]] Dissertation Award (2015)<ref name="Cambridge"/>
*[[International Association of Applied Psychology]] Best Paper Award (2013)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/slinden/files/iaap.png|title = Best Paper Award | publisher= IAAP|accessdate=23 May 2017}}</ref>


He co-developed the fake news game ''[[Bad News (video game)|Bad News]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gold|first=Hadas|year=2020|title=Researchers have created a 'vaccine' for fake news. It's a game |journal=CNN|url =https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/04/media/fake-news-game-vaccine/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= van der Linden |first= Sander | year = 2023 | title=Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity |url= https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/foolproof-why-we-fall-for-misinformation-and-how-to-build-immunity-sander-van-der-linden?variant=39973011980366 |location= London, UK |publisher= 4th Estate/HarperCollins |page= 336 |isbn=9780008466718}}</ref> which simulates a social media feed and teaches people about the manipulation techniques used in the production of fake news. A more recent version of the game called ''GoViral!''<ref>{{cite journal|last=Reader|first=Ruth|year=2020|title=This game can stop people from falling for COVID-19 conspiracies|journal=Fast Company |url =https://www.fastcompany.com/90563255/covid-19-conspiracies-go-viral-game}}</ref> aims to inoculate against misinformation about [[COVID-19]] specifically.
==Personal Views==

Alongside [[Lawrence Krauss]] and other scholars, he was asked to comment on the 2017 US election results by [[Research Gate]], van der Linden described the Trump campaign as a classic approach to spreading "misinformation, prejudice, and fear".<ref name="ResearchGate">{{cite web |url= https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/researchers-react-to-the-election-of-donald-trump | title = Researchers React to the Election of Donald Trump | publisher= ResearchGate|accessdate=23 May 2017}}</ref> "The larger lesson for psychology here is that we have not sufficiently attempted to truly understand what is going in most people’s minds, what they are thinking, why they are thinking this way, and how people ended up being so divided on fundamental social issues”.<ref name="ResearchGate"/> Van der Linden is also a noted critic of the [[cultural cognition]] thesis proposed by [[Dan Kahan]].<ref name = "Consensus Culturalc">{{cite journal|last=van der Linden|first=Sander|year=2016|title=A Conceptual Critique of the Cultural Cognition Thesis|journal=Science Communication|volume=38|issue=1|pages=128–138|doi=10.1177/1075547015614970}}</ref>
=== Gateway belief model ===
Van der Linden is known for the [[Gateway belief model]] (GBM),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=Sander|last2=Leiserowitz|first2=Anthony|last3=Feinberg|first3=Geoffrey|last4=Maibach|first4=Edward|year=2015|title=The Scientific Consensus on Human-Caused Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=10|issue=2|pages=e0118489|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0118489|pmid=25714347|pmc=4340922|doi-access=free}}</ref> a dual-process theory of reasoning. The model postulates a two-step process of attitude change. In the first step, perceptions of agreement among a group of influential referents (e.g. experts) influence key private attitudes that people may hold about an issue (e.g., that [[global warming]] is human-caused). In turn, these central [[cognitive]] and [[affective]] beliefs are hypothesized to shape public attitudes and support for science.<ref name="Mooney"/> In other words, the model suggests that what underpins people's attitudes toward (often contested) science is their perception of a scientific consensus. Correcting people's (mis)perception of scientific agreement on an issue is therefore regarded as a "gateway" cognition<ref name="Mooney">{{cite news|last=Mooney|first=Chris|year=2015|title=Researchers think they've found a "gateway belief" that leads to greater science acceptance|newspaper=The Washington Post|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/26/can-this-gateway-belief-get-people-to-accept-climate-change/}}</ref> to eliciting subsequent changes in related beliefs that people hold about contested social and scientific issues.<ref name="Sander"/>

With the consensus [[heuristic]] as the primary mechanism for initiating the attitude change, the model finds its theoretical roots in other prominent social psychological theories such as the [[heuristic-systematic model]] and the [[Elaboration Likelihood Model]].<ref name="Sander">{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=Sander|last2=Maibach|first2=Edward|last3=Leiserowitz|first3=Anthony|year=2020|title=The gateway belief model: A large-scale replication|journal=Journal of Environmental Psychology|volume=62|pages=49–58|doi=10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.01.009|s2cid=151033547 |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289506}}</ref> The model has been applied in a variety of contexts, including climate change,<ref name = "Scientific Facts">{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=S|last2=Leiserowitz|first2=A|last3=Maibach|first3=E|year=2017|title=Scientific agreement can neutralize politicization of facts|journal=Nature Human Behaviour |volume=2|issue=1|pages=2–3|doi=10.1038/s41562-017-0259-2|pmid=30980051|s2cid=3287707|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/278828}}</ref><ref name = "Climate">{{cite journal|last1=Kerr|first2 = John|last2=Wilson|first = Marc| year=2018|title=Changes in perceived scientific consensus shift beliefs about climate change and GM food safety|journal = PLOS ONE|volume = 13|issue = 7|pages = e0200295|doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0200295|pmid = 29979762|pmc = 6034897|bibcode = 2018PLoSO..1300295K| url= |doi-access = free}}</ref> vaccination,<ref name = "Vaccine">{{cite journal|last=Hotchkiss|first = Michael|year=2015|title=Emphasizing consensus about safety boosts support for vaccines|journal = Princeton University News| url=https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S45/02/77M41/index.xml?section=topstories}}</ref> the [[Brexit]] debate,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harris |first1=Adam|last2=Sildmäe|first2=Oliver|last3=Speekenbrink|first3=Maarten|last4= Hahn| first4 = Ulrike| year=2020|title= The potential power of experience in communications of expert consensus levels|journal=Journal of Risk Research|volume=22|issue=5|pages=593–609|doi=10.1080/13669877.2018.1440416|s2cid=148609227|url=https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/28813/1/28813.pdf}}</ref> and [[Genetically modified organism|GMOs]].<ref name = "GMO">{{cite journal|last=Dixon|first = Graham| year=2018|title=Applying the Gateway Belief Model to Genetically Modified Food Perceptions: New Insights and Additional Questions|journal = Journal of Communication|volume = 66|issue = 6|pages = 888–908| doi=10.1111/jcom.12260}}</ref> One analysis from [[Skeptical Science]] of 37 published papers notes that about 86% of them support the broad tenets of the GBM.<ref name = "cook">{{cite journal|last=Cook|first = John| year=2020|title=The Consensus on Consensus Messaging|journal = Skeptical Science|url= https://skepticalscience.com/consensus-consensus-messaging.html}}</ref>

===Conspiracy theories===
Van der Linden and others have surveyed more than 5,000 Americans online about their political preferences, asking them to respond to questions developed to measure conspiratorial thinking and paranoia. They found that those at the extremes of the political spectrum were more conspiratorial than those in the middle. Researchers also found that conservatives were more prone to conspiracy thinking than liberals. Van der Linden speculates that this may reflect strong identification with conservative groups and values, and attempts to manage uncertainty.<ref name="Miller">{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Greg |title=The enduring allure of conspiracies |journal=Knowable Magazine |date=14 January 2021|doi-access=free |doi=10.1146/knowable-011421-2 |url=https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2021/the-enduring-allure-conspiracies |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Books===
* ''FOOLPROOF: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity'' (HarperCollins), 2023. {{ISBN|9780008466718}}
* ''Risk and Uncertainty in a Post-Truth Society'' (Earthscan Risk in Society), 2019. {{ISBN|978-0367235437}}


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
⚫
* [http://www.sdmlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab]

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:van der Linden, Sander}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:van der Linden, Sander}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Social psychologists]]
[[Category:Dutch social psychologists]]
[[Category:Dutch psychologists]]
[[Category:Dutch psychologists]]
[[Category:Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge]]
[[Category: Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Latest revision as of 09:07, 6 August 2024

Sander van der Linden
Van der Linden in 2019
NationalityDutch
Alma materLondon School of Economics and Political Science
Known forGateway belief model, Bad News (video game)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisThe social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study (2014)

Sander L. van der Linden is a Dutch social psychologist and author who is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He studies the psychology of social influence, risk, human judgment, and decision-making. He is particularly known for his research on the psychology of social issues, such as fake news,[1] COVID-19,[2] and climate change.[3]

He has written books for general audiences, including Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity, which is about the psychology of misinformation and fake news.

Education

[edit]

Van der Linden earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Amsterdam and California State University, Chico.[4] He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science[5] in 2014 with a thesis titled "The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study",[6] and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University.[citation needed]

Career

[edit]

Van der Linden is Professor of Social Psychology in society in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, England where he has directed the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Laboratory since 2016.[7] He is also a fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, a research affiliate of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at Yale University and the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge.[5]

He serves on the editorial board of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Personality and Individual Differences, Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology, and the Journal of Risk Research.[8][9][10][11]

He was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Environmental Psychology from 2018 to 2021.[12]

Research contributions

[edit]

Misinformation

[edit]

Van der Linden is most well-known for his research program that looks at how to protect people from fake news and misinformation.[13][14] The research draws on inoculation theory where, following the biomedical analogy, forewarning people and exposing them to a severely weakened dose of fake news can generate psychological resistance against it.[15][16][17][18]

He co-developed the fake news game Bad News,[19][20] which simulates a social media feed and teaches people about the manipulation techniques used in the production of fake news. A more recent version of the game called GoViral![21] aims to inoculate against misinformation about COVID-19 specifically.

Gateway belief model

[edit]

Van der Linden is known for the Gateway belief model (GBM),[22] a dual-process theory of reasoning. The model postulates a two-step process of attitude change. In the first step, perceptions of agreement among a group of influential referents (e.g. experts) influence key private attitudes that people may hold about an issue (e.g., that global warming is human-caused). In turn, these central cognitive and affective beliefs are hypothesized to shape public attitudes and support for science.[23] In other words, the model suggests that what underpins people's attitudes toward (often contested) science is their perception of a scientific consensus. Correcting people's (mis)perception of scientific agreement on an issue is therefore regarded as a "gateway" cognition[23] to eliciting subsequent changes in related beliefs that people hold about contested social and scientific issues.[24]

With the consensus heuristic as the primary mechanism for initiating the attitude change, the model finds its theoretical roots in other prominent social psychological theories such as the heuristic-systematic model and the Elaboration Likelihood Model.[24] The model has been applied in a variety of contexts, including climate change,[25][26] vaccination,[27] the Brexit debate,[28] and GMOs.[29] One analysis from Skeptical Science of 37 published papers notes that about 86% of them support the broad tenets of the GBM.[30]

Conspiracy theories

[edit]

Van der Linden and others have surveyed more than 5,000 Americans online about their political preferences, asking them to respond to questions developed to measure conspiratorial thinking and paranoia. They found that those at the extremes of the political spectrum were more conspiratorial than those in the middle. Researchers also found that conservatives were more prone to conspiracy thinking than liberals. Van der Linden speculates that this may reflect strong identification with conservative groups and values, and attempts to manage uncertainty.[31]

Bibliography

[edit]

Books

[edit]
  • FOOLPROOF: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity (HarperCollins), 2023. ISBN 9780008466718
  • Risk and Uncertainty in a Post-Truth Society (Earthscan Risk in Society), 2019. ISBN 978-0367235437

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Could this be the cure for fake news?". BBC. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Tackling COVID-19 Dr Sander van der Linden". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  3. ^ "How Psychology can Save the World from Climate Change". NPR. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Sander van der Linden". Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Sander van der Linden's Cambridge University Department Page". 6 September 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  6. ^ van der Linden, Sander (2014). The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study (PhD). London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Department Welcomes Dr. van der Linden". Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  8. ^ Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. APA. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Personality and Individual Differences". Elsevier. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Journal of Risk Research". Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology". Elsevier. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Journal of Environmental Psychology". Elsevier. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  13. ^ Ortiz, Diego (2018). "Could this be the cure for fake news?". BBC Future.
  14. ^ Robson, David (2020). "Vaccinating against viruses of the mind". British Psychological Association.
  15. ^ van der Linden, Sander (2023). Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity. London, UK: 4th Estate/HarperCollins. p. 336. ISBN 9780008466718.
  16. ^ van der Linden, Sander; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Rosenthal, Seth; Maibach, Edward (2017). "Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change". Global Challenges. 1 (2): 1600008: 1–7. doi:10.1002/gch2.201600008. PMC 6607159. PMID 31565263.
  17. ^ Maertens, R; Roozenbeek, J; Basol, M; van der Linden, S (2020). "Long-term effectiveness of inoculation against misinformation: Three longitudinal experiments". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. 27 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1037/xap0000315. ISSN 1076-898X. PMID 33017160. S2CID 222148288.
  18. ^ Roozenbeek, J; van der Linden, S (2019). "Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation". Palgrave Communications. 5 (65). doi:10.1057/s41599-019-0279-9. S2CID 195329457.
  19. ^ Gold, Hadas (2020). "Researchers have created a 'vaccine' for fake news. It's a game". CNN.
  20. ^ van der Linden, Sander (2023). Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity. London, UK: 4th Estate/HarperCollins. p. 336. ISBN 9780008466718.
  21. ^ Reader, Ruth (2020). "This game can stop people from falling for COVID-19 conspiracies". Fast Company.
  22. ^ van der Linden, Sander; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Feinberg, Geoffrey; Maibach, Edward (2015). "The Scientific Consensus on Human-Caused Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence". PLOS ONE. 10 (2): e0118489. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118489. PMC 4340922. PMID 25714347.
  23. ^ a b Mooney, Chris (2015). "Researchers think they've found a "gateway belief" that leads to greater science acceptance". The Washington Post.
  24. ^ a b van der Linden, Sander; Maibach, Edward; Leiserowitz, Anthony (2020). "The gateway belief model: A large-scale replication". Journal of Environmental Psychology. 62: 49–58. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.01.009. S2CID 151033547.
  25. ^ van der Linden, S; Leiserowitz, A; Maibach, E (2017). "Scientific agreement can neutralize politicization of facts". Nature Human Behaviour. 2 (1): 2–3. doi:10.1038/s41562-017-0259-2. PMID 30980051. S2CID 3287707.
  26. ^ Kerr, Marc; Wilson, John (2018). "Changes in perceived scientific consensus shift beliefs about climate change and GM food safety". PLOS ONE. 13 (7): e0200295. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1300295K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0200295. PMC 6034897. PMID 29979762.
  27. ^ Hotchkiss, Michael (2015). "Emphasizing consensus about safety boosts support for vaccines". Princeton University News.
  28. ^ Harris, Adam; Sildmäe, Oliver; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Hahn, Ulrike (2020). "The potential power of experience in communications of expert consensus levels" (PDF). Journal of Risk Research. 22 (5): 593–609. doi:10.1080/13669877.2018.1440416. S2CID 148609227.
  29. ^ Dixon, Graham (2018). "Applying the Gateway Belief Model to Genetically Modified Food Perceptions: New Insights and Additional Questions". Journal of Communication. 66 (6): 888–908. doi:10.1111/jcom.12260.
  30. ^ Cook, John (2020). "The Consensus on Consensus Messaging". Skeptical Science.
  31. ^ Miller, Greg (14 January 2021). "The enduring allure of conspiracies". Knowable Magazine. doi:10.1146/knowable-011421-2. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
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