A taxonomy of reasoning flaws in the anti-vaccine movement
Section snippets
Methods
We surveyed the literature through Medline and EMBASE for surveys in the English language identifying the more common parental and public misconceptions regarding routine vaccination. Using Medline 1966 to October Week 2, 2006, with an intersection of citations found for the keywords of “Parents” and “Vaccination” and the union of the set of citations from keywords “Risk Assessment” or “Perception” or “Culture” or “Attitude to Health,” we found 32 original investigations that identified
Results
The first of the cognitive flaws (Table 1) is one's natural desire to find order and predictability in random data. For example, one observes an apparent change in an occurrence rate of an important event. While the apparent change may be only the result of a random fluctuation or cluster, the observer seeks to impose an order and looks for an explanation.
In the field of vaccines, this flaw is evident in the common misconception that results with the occasional occurrence of sudden infant death
Discussion
These claims of the anti-vaccine movement illustrate the breadth of reasoning flaws. It is the authors’ hope that the identification of these reasoning flaws might better prepare those who would promote and practice routine childhood and adult vaccination.
Gilovich has laid out a framework by which proponents of public health and routine vaccination can better understand the basis for the mistaken beliefs of parents and others who fear and oppose vaccination. By understanding the psychological
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by NIH grants AI 33144, AI 48793 and AI 40065 and Mayo Clinic General Clinical Research Center grant MO1 RR 00585.
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