CORONAVIRUS Mini-Series #9 (15th Dec) Conspiracy Theories - Prof Jim McManus & Dr Daniel Jolley

Recorded 15th December 2020Guests:Professor Jim McManus - Director of Public Health at Hertfordshire County Council and VP of the Association of Directors of Public Health. He is a Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society Fellow & Co-Founder and Chair of the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network. Dr Daniel Jolley - Snr Lecturer in Psychology at Northumbria University, Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society & member of the Executive Committee of the Social Psychology Section. Daniel is a social psychologist with expertise in the psychology of conspiracy theories.Episode Description:In this coronavirus special, Stu talks with Jim and Dan about conspiracy theories - including what separates conspiratorial thinking from more simple questioning, and how as conspiracies become more familiar to us, they can also become more believable. They explore the history of conspiracies, how they are nothing new and often accompany significant cultural or political change. In doing so, Dan demonstrates how beliefs in conspiracies are linked with higher anxiety and feelings of threat. The group then go on to examine and tackle some conspiracies relating to COVID-19 and the vaccine:5G and worsening COVID-19 symptomsVaccines and side effects How could it have been developed so quickly?If it works why can't we stop social distancing?Vaccine contains nanoparticlesVaccine is being used for trackingWe don’t know what’s in itThe group also discuss how to bring people away from conspiracies, and how this starts with building back trust; having a genuine dialogue with compassion and establishing common ground.Additional resources:Go Viral! - game developed by University of Cambridge & UK Government. It gives a taste of the techniques and motivations behind the spread of coronavirus misinformation .NHS Why Vaccinations Are Important - how vaccines work, what they contain and the most common side effects.Contact:Dr Daniel Jolley: Website  & TwitterProfessor Jim McManus: LinkedInStu King: LinkedIn, Twitter & Stu's Blogs

Om Podcasten

Welcome to the Real World Behavioural Science (RWBS) podcast, where we look at how behavioural and social sciences are being used in the real world to help change the public’s health, for good. The RWBS podcast is created by the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network (www.BSPHN.org.uk) and is aimed at people working in public health, academia and industry, who have an interest in how behavioural science is being used to improve health and wellbeing.Each month, Stu King (BSPHN Committee Member and founder & CEO of behaviour change specialists BeeZee Bodies) and Dr Tiago Moutela (Head of Behavioural Science at BeeZee Bodies), interview professionals from the worlds of public health, academia and industry, who are using behavioural science to help change people’s lives. We have episodes featuring: - Professor Jim McManus - Co-founder of the BSPHN & Director of Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council, UK - Dr Amy Bucher – Behavioural Scientist at MadPow, Boston, USA - Dr Nick Cavill – Quasi-academic and Director of a Public Health Consultancy, UK - Professor Chris Armitage – Professor of Health Psychology, University of Manchester, UK - Rich Sheridan – CEO and Chief Storyteller at Menlo Innovations, Ann Arbour, USA- Dr Justin Varney - Director of Public Health at Birmingham City Council, UK - Mike Kelly - Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University Institute of Public Health, UK - Wendy Wills - University of Hertfordshire- Kim Roberts - HENRY We have some great guests in the pipeline from across industry, public health and academia and from across the world, including: - Samuel Salzer - Habits Weekly, Sweden - Tim Chadborn - PHE Behavioural Insights Team Subscribe now!