CONy 2020 | Why we form beliefs that are inaccurate

Tali Sharot, MA, PhD, University College London, London, UK, discusses how the brain forms beliefs that are rewarding but not always accurate. We tend to seek information that will confirm or update our beliefs to increase our internal reward. Although, in unsafe and threatening situations, our brain is more likely to prioritize accurate beliefs over internally rewarding ones. How the formation of beliefs interacts with pharmacology, neurochemistry and mental health remains a topic for further research. This interview took place during the Virtual World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) 2020.