Semmelweis Reflex: How to Be Less Wrong in Life

Our beliefs, assumptions, perceptions and worldviews determine how we interpret events in life.

Many people often look for confirming information to justify what they think is right: they are less likely to consider new or factual evidence that contradicts their beliefs.

There is a name for it: Semmelweis reflex — “a human behavioral tendency to stick to preexisting beliefs and to reject fresh ideas that contradict them (despite adequate evidence).”

The Semmelweis reflex, or simply the Semmelweis effect, is a metaphor that illustrates how humans tend to reject new evidence, findings, or knowledge because it contradicts established norms, beliefs, and cultural values.

The term was coined by John Braithwaite in 1956 and was named after Hungarian physician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818–1865).

Semmelweis discovered that childbed fever was much less common among hospital staff who washed their hands before attending to pregnant women.

Most doctors at the time ignored his findings, and Semmelweis himself thought that there must be some unknown but morally responsible cause for the effect he described.

It is commonly used to describe situations where people may be unwilling to accept new ideas even when sufficient evidence supports them.

The term has also been applied outside of medicine to describe other situations in which new evidence fails to change pre-existing beliefs or behaviours.

For example, there are different beliefs about the effects of vaccines despite the scientific evidence or facts about the real side effects. And there are also facts about how we can protect ourselves or stay safe. But many people hold on to their common knowledge about what works and what does.

It’s the same for climate change: people have strong beliefs about what causes it, despite the evidence that human activity has a lot to do with it.

Semmelweis reflex is also called cognitive dissonance or the “plumbing rules” effect, which refer to an individual’s tendency to justify one position by creating another position to defend it.

Aim to be less wrong — rather than more right

“We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions,” writes Adam M. Grant, in his book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know.

So, how do we overcome the Semmelweis reflex to improve our lives? How can we be less wrong in our decision-making process?

We can start with an open mind. It’s easier said than done, though.

But it’s not impossible to train your brain to avoid this cognitive bias.

Many people hold on too firmly to their beliefs, mental models and assumptions. These same ideas influence their decision making in everyday life.

They hardly upgrade or improve the principles, habits and perceptions even when new evidence reveals their ideas are not serving them.

Learning to be less wrong is not easy.

It’s hard! But it’s worth it.

Research shows that you’re less likely to be wrong when you’re more careful about how you process or interpret information.

A lot less wrong!

There is a lot of nonsense out there. Many wrong facts and ideas are thrown around from your Facebook feed to your TV.

It’s hard to know what to believe or not.

Well, you can’t be 100% right all the time, but you can lower the percentage of how often you’re wrong.

To be less wrong, learn always to ask questions that expose the consequences of different paths.

For every decision you make, ask how things could go wrong. What are the first and second-order consequences of every path you could take?

Dig into the consequences of your actions before you take them. Ask yourself: how can it go wrong? And how would you fix issues if they come up?

Are my present assumptions for making this decision right or factual?

Is there are better evidence that supports my beliefs?

Keep probing until you arrive at the path with the least consequences or a path with better odds of success. Don’t disregard new information because it doesn’t confirm what you already know.

It doesn’t mean you have to accept or change your mind all the time: it just means giving yourself permission to explore and understand new knowledge.

It’s incredible how something as simple as maintaining a curious mindset can change everything. Certain decisions have more significant consequences than others and should not be taken lightly.

One way to make better decisions is by asking yourself if the decision will affect other people or things that matter to you or other areas of your life: social relationships, career, finances, time commitments or health.

What if you could find new knowledge to think more clearly about your options? Imagine how much better your life would be if you were thinking objectively.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see things more clearly, making decisions easier?

Making good decisions is hard.

You might have too many options, feel like it’s impossible to know which is the best option, or not have any idea what your decision should be.

The Semmelweis reflex influences our choices and judgments every day.

The impulse to reject new knowledge can expose us to more risks. But with an open mind, and a curious mindset, you are more likely to explore a better path.

So, the next time you quickly object to new facts and evidence, think about the implications. Challenging your beliefs and assumptions or learning to consider alternatives is not all bad.

When you find better knowledge, don’t affirm your beliefs, evolve them.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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