title: Pre-existing beliefs and expectations influence judgments of novel health information.
abstract: The present study examined whether health information is judged differently depending on pre-existing beliefs and expectations. People's initial beliefs and expectations were assessed by a questionnaire about acupuncture and a trustworthiness and preference rating task of doctors' faces. Then, newspaper headlines about novel acupuncture treatment were shown and rated for their feasibility in a normal and framed condition. The judged feasibility of the newspaper headlines correlated strongly with initial beliefs about acupuncture in the normal condition, and with initial expectations towards a doctor's face in the framed condition. Thus, as suggested by Bayes Theorem, pre-existing beliefs and expectations influence judgments of novel health information.
authors: Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Dong-Seon
authors: DS
authors: Chang
authors: O-Seok
authors: OS
authors: Kang
authors: Hwa-Hyun
authors: HH
authors: Kim
authors: Ho-Sun
authors: HS
authors: Kim
authors: Hyejung
authors: H
authors: Lee
authors: Hi-Joon
authors: HJ
authors: Park
authors: Hackjin
authors: H
authors: Kim
authors: Younbyoung
authors: Y
authors: Chae
mesh_terms: D026881:Acupuncture; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult