TRUTH CHECK — Why We Don’t Fact-Check: Psychological Barriers

Explore the psychology behind why we skip fact-checking + learn to pause, think, and see truth more clearly.

Resources for this Episode

Why don’t we fact-check—especially when a headline feels right?

In this first episode of the Truth Check series, we explore the psychological barriers that quietly shape how we interpret information—and why even smart, well-meaning people sometimes reject the facts.

From cognitive dissonance to confirmation bias to overconfidence bias, we’ll look at how our brains are wired for comfort and familiarity more than truth—and what we can do to change that.

☝️ Truth Check: Once we recognize these mental habits, we can start replacing reaction with reflection.

🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn how to …

• Recognize the discomfort of cognitive dissonance — and what it signals.

• Spot confirmation bias in your own scrolling habits.

• Understand why overconfidence bias makes misinformation feel obvious to others—but not to us.

• Use reflection tools (like Harvard’s Implicit Bias Test and the Cognitive Reflection Test) to see how your own mind works.

💬 Join the Conversation 💬

1. Have you ever realized you believed something that wasn’t true?
   What helped you see it differently?

2. Or did something in today’s episode make you rethink your own thought patterns?

Join the conversation on the American Together YouTube channel under Why We Don’t Fact-Check: Psychological Barriers | American Together video, or in our upcoming community space (coming soon).

🛠 3 Ps in Action: Comment Edition 🛠
Need a little extra help shaping your reply? This quick guide uses the same 3 Ps process I use myself: Pause, Pinpoint Truth, Proceed with Purposeful Forethought.

🧭 Practice Challenge 🧭

Pick one quiz (linked below) from today’s episode — the one that felt most uncomfortable — and take it. Notice your reactions as you go, then come back and tell us what you noticed.

📝 Survey Challenges (Clickable) 📝

Try these short activities for yourself:

• Harvard Implicit Bias Test (also known as the Implicit Association Test—IAT)

• News Literacy Project (Checkology quiz. You’ll need to sign in or register — free — to access.)

• Cognitive Reflection Test (classic 3-question version, direct link to test)

🔎 Full Sources & Further Reading 🔎

• Episode Sources (clickable)

  1. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press. (books.google.com)

  2. Frederick, S. (2005). Cognitive reflection and decision making. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(4), 25–42. (doi.org)

  3. Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. (doi.org)

  4. McCurdy, R. (2022). President Barack Obama [Painting]. White House Historical Association. (whitehousehistory.org)

  5. News Literacy Project. (n.d.). News literacy quiz. (newslit.org)

  6. Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220. (doi.org)

  7. Project Implicit. (n.d.). Implicit Association Test (IAT). Harvard University. (harvard.edu)

• Further Resources (clickable)

  1.  News Literacy Project — Free lessons and tools that help people of all ages spot misinformation and verify sources.

  2.  Media Bias/Fact Check — Outlet database with bias and factual-reporting ratings; use it to compare perspectives, not crown one “right.”

  3.  Stanford History Education Group – Civic Online Reasoning — Research-based digital-literacy lessons on evaluating online information.

  4.  American Psychological Association – Psychology topics — Hub of readable articles on cognition, reasoning, misinformation, social media, and more.

🔗 Continue the Journey 🔗

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