Mad River Behavioral Health

 It's important to understand that susceptibility to propaganda isn't a sign of weakness, but rather a reflection of how our brains process information. Here are some key factors that make us vulnerable: Emotional Appeals:     ~>  Propaganda often targets our emotions, such as fear, anger, or hope. Strong emotional responses can bypass our rational thinking, making us more likely to accept information without critical evaluation. Confirmation Bias:     ~>  We tend to seek out and believe information that confirms our existing beliefs. Propaganda can exploit this by presenting information that aligns with our worldview, reinforcing our biases and making us less receptive to opposing viewpoints. Social Influence:     ~>  We are social creatures, and we are influenced by the opinions and behaviors of those around us. Propaganda can leverage this by creating a sense of social pressure or conformity, making us more likely to accept i...

  Is Our Intuition Trustworthy  We all have a negativity bias that causes us to notice and process negative information more than positive information. As a result we tend to over-emphasize risk / danger when there is none present.  This isn’t a bad thing, but it is important to be aware of. We may make some bad decisions in situations that really matter if we fly by intuition alone.   Intuition is the combination of our subconscious interacting with our current perceptions and tilted by our negativity bias - a stew of inaccuracies. Confirmation bias provides the “proof” that our intuitions are accurate by recalling the very few times when we didn’t listen to our gut and got burned, but confirmation bias ignores the vast number of times in which we ignored our intuitions and everything worked out really well.  A very few super talented people can use intuition effectively because their intuition is absolutely packed with a shit ton of evidence, knowledge, and ...