Wellness in the Public Interest

Debunking Wellness Myths: How to Identify and Combat Health Misinformation

October 15, 2024
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Join Camelia Hostinar, PhD an associate professor of Psychology at UC Davis, as she addresses the growing concern of wellness misinformation in the digital age. As a stress researcher, Dr. Hostinar explains how misinformation about stress hormones, like cortisol, spreads across digital platforms and offers strategies for identifying reliable health information. By shedding light on the psychology behind why people fall for false information and how stress is misunderstood online, she provides evidence-based methods to combat health-related misinformation.

Quick insights

  • Misinformation proliferation: wellness misinformation, especially regarding cortisol and stress, is widely spread on social media platforms like TikTok, amassing millions of views.
  • Health implications: inaccurate advice about stress and wellness can lead to harmful decisions, including  following dangerous health fads.
  • Scientific standards: reliable wellness information should be based on randomized controlled trials, which are the gold standard in medical research.
  • Many factors influence misinformation: people may fall prey to misinformation due to emotional reactions, social influence, and cognitive biases such as confirmation bias.
  • Preventing misinformation spread: fact-checking, critical thinking, and relying on reputable sources such as medical professionals and peer-reviewed research are essential to combating misinformation.

Featured expert: Cam Hostinar, PhD

Cam Hostinar, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Davis. She leads research on how the social environment shapes health, with a focus on early-life stress and its impact on stress-response systems. Her research at the Social Environment and Stress (SES) Lab, examines developmental processes at multiple levels of analysis, incorporating endocrine and immune biomarkers, electrophysiological data, and behavioral measures. She seeks to improve understanding of the role of early-life stress in shaping self-regulatory skills, and to illuminate how stress-buffering processes such as supportive social relationships exert their effects. Dr. Hostinar is also affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research.

Video highlights

00:00 – Introduction and wellness misinformation
Dr. Camelia Hostinar introduces herself as an Associate Professor of Psychology at UC Davis, where she teaches stress and health psychology. In this segment, she sets the stage by addressing the widespread issue of misinformation about stress and wellness on digital platforms. She emphasizes that as a professor and stress researcher, she often encounters students who have been misled by false or incomplete information, especially about stress hormones like cortisol.

01:00 – Misinformation on cortisol
Hostinar highlights how cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress, has become a viral topic on social media platforms like TikTok, where the hashtags related to cortisol have garnered over 140 million views. Unfortunately, much of the content under these hashtags is created by influencers with no medical or psychological training. This misinformation often leads people to believe in unproven methods for balancing hormones or detoxing their bodies, which can be misleading and potentially harmful.

02:00 – The psychological impact of misinformation
She explains that misinformation about health and wellness is particularly dangerous because it can influence people’s decisions about their well-being, leading to harmful behaviors such as skipping vaccines or following dangerous health fads. Hostinar references a concerning trend where people have been influenced to add laundry detergent to their coffee, highlighting how misinformation can spread rapidly and result in real harm before it is addressed or corrected.

03:30 –  Defining misinformation
In this section, Dr. Hostinar defines misinformation, citing the American Psychological Association’s definition: any information that is demonstrably false or misleading, regardless of its source or intent. This definition is critical to understanding the gravity of health-related misinformation, as it can cause confusion, undermine trust, and lead to harmful choices regarding personal health and wellness. By clearly defining misinformation, she lays the foundation for why it is essential to verify the accuracy of health advice before accepting or sharing it.

05:00 – Scientific evidence and stress relief
In this segment, Dr. Hostinar discusses the importance of scientific rigor when evaluating wellness remedies. She stresses that reliable treatments are those that have been tested in randomized controlled trials, which are the gold standard in medical and psychological research. These trials ensure that remedies or treatments are not only effective but also safe, reducing the risk of bias and ensuring the results are applicable to a wider population.

06:30 – The role of emotion and confirmation bias
Hostinar introduces the concept of confirmation bias, where people tend to accept information that aligns with their existing beliefs while rejecting information that contradicts them. She explains how emotions, especially fear and anxiety, play a crucial role in making people more susceptible to health misinformation. This emotional response can cause individuals to seek out and trust unverified remedies, leading them to make poor health choices based on inaccurate information.

07:03  – How to identify misinformation

In this segment, Dr. Hostinar provides a practical guide for identifying misinformation related to health and wellness. She outlines a clear, step-by-step process that viewers can follow to ensure they are not misled by false or unverified claims:

  1. Has it been tested in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)?
    The first step in evaluating any wellness or stress-relief remedy is to check if it has been tested in an RCT. These trials are the gold standard in medical and psychological research because they randomly assign participants to either a treatment or a control group, minimizing bias and ensuring reliable results.
  2. What is the sample size and representativeness?
    Dr. Hostinar emphasizes the importance of looking at the sample size in studies. A larger and more representative sample provides more reliable results. If the sample is too small, only includes one gender, or was conducted on animals (like rodents), the findings may not generalize to humans.
  3. Are there any financial conflicts of interest?
    It’s crucial to check if the authors or creators of the information have a financial interest in the remedy or product being promoted. If researchers or influencers stand to gain financially, this could introduce bias into their recommendations, making the results less trustworthy.
  4. Has the research been replicated?
    Reliable findings should be replicated by different research groups over time. A single study, even if well-designed, can produce results that are due to chance. Multiple studies that consistently show the same results provide stronger evidence that the treatment or remedy is truly effective.
  5. What do experts and trained medical professionals say?
    Finally, Dr. Hostinar advises consulting experts or medical professionals about any health claims. These professionals have years of training and are well-positioned to evaluate whether a remedy is supported by sound scientific evidence. Checking their recommendations can help ensure you’re receiving trustworthy advice.

10:40  – Why are we susceptible to misinformation?

In this section, Dr. Hostinar explores the psychological reasons why people are prone to accepting and spreading misinformation, particularly in the health and wellness space. She describes several factors that influence our vulnerability:

  • Knowledge neglect:
    Even when people possess accurate information, they can fail to retrieve it at critical moments, leading them to accept false claims. This phenomenon is highlighted by a classic study where participants, despite knowing it was Noah who built the ark, mistakenly accepted a question about “Moses” and the ark because they didn’t notice the error in the moment.
  • Confirmation bias:
    Humans have a tendency to seek out and remember information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs. When presented with new information that contradicts those beliefs, people often reject it to avoid cognitive dissonance—an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas at once.
  • Social influence:
    We are more likely to trust information from sources within our “in-group”—people we identify with, like family, friends, or coworkers—than from outside sources. This in-group bias can lead people to trust misinformation simply because it comes from someone close to them, regardless of the actual credibility of the information.

These psychological tendencies make it challenging to identify misinformation, especially in an environment filled with emotional and sensational content.

15:00  – How does emotion drive the spread of misinformation?
While fear and anxiety contribute to the spread of misinformation, Hostinar also points out that positive emotions can have the same effect. Information that promotes a sense of well-being or optimism, even if false, is more likely to be shared and accepted. For example, claims such as “positive thoughts can cleanse the body of toxins” often spread because they make people feel good, even though they lack scientific validity.

22:24 – How does repetition make misinformation seem more credible?
Hostinar explains the illusory truth effect, a psychological phenomenon where people start to believe false information simply because it is repeated often. She discusses how repetition, even when the information is incorrect, can cement ideas in people’s minds, making it harder to debunk misinformation. This segment underscores the importance of stopping the spread of false information early, before it can gain traction through repeated exposure.

15:30 – Tools and strategies we can use to combat misinformation
In the final segment, Dr. Hostinar offers actionable advice for combating misinformation. She emphasizes the importance of checking sources, relying on peer-reviewed studies, and consulting medical professionals for health advice. Hostinar encourages viewers to critically assess information before sharing it, understanding that emotions can cloud judgment. She also highlights the need for responsible behavior in the digital space, urging people to be mindful of the broader impact of spreading misinformation.

Resources

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References