{{short description|Social psychologist (born 1986)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Sander van der Linden | image = Van_der_Linden_@_Hay.jpg | caption = Van der Linden in 2019 | birth_date = 1986 | fields = {{Plainlist| * Social psychology * Behavioral science * Decision-making }} | known_for = Gateway belief model, ''Bad News'' | workplaces = {{Plainlist| * University of Cambridge * Yale University * Princeton University }} | alma_mater = London School of Economics and Political Science | thesis_title = The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study | thesis_url = https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/896/ | thesis_year = 2014 }}
'''Sander L. van der Linden''' (born 1986) is a Dutch social psychologist and author who is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He studies the psychology of social influence, risk, human judgment, and decision-making. He is known for his research on the psychology of social issues, such as fake news,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181114-could-this-game-be-a-vaccine-against-fake-news|title= Could this be the cure for fake news? |publisher= BBC |access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> COVID-19 conspiracy theories,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/tackling-covid-19-dr-sander-van-der-linden|title= Tackling COVID-19: Dr. Sander van der Linden |publisher= University of Cambridge |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref> and climate change denial.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/11/30/457835780/how-psychology-can-save-the-world-from-climate-change?t=1551918490860|title= How Psychology Can Save the World from Climate Change|publisher= NPR |access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref>
He has written books for general audiences, including ''Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity'', which is about the psychology of misinformation and fake news.
==Education == Van der Linden earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Amsterdam and California State University, Chico.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sander van der Linden|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/profile/sander-van-der-linden/|publisher=Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science<ref name="Cambridge"/> in 2014 with a thesis titled "The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study",<ref>{{cite thesis|last=van der Linden|first=Sander|date=2014|title=The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, intentions and behaviours: a national study|type=PhD|publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/896/|access-date=2 November 2021}}</ref> and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |date=July 16, 2015 |title=Sander van der Linden |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/people-partners/sander-van-der-linden/}}</ref>
==Career== Van der Linden is Professor of Social Psychology in Society at the University of Cambridge, England.<ref name="Cambridge" /> He joined Cambridge's Department of Psychology in 2016 after directing Princeton's Social and Environmental Decision-Making Laboratory.<ref>{{cite news |title=Department Welcomes Dr. van der Linden |url=http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/archived-news/2016/the-department-welcomes-dr-sander-van-der-linden |archive-date=26 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226092000/http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/archived-news/2016/the-department-welcomes-dr-sander-van-der-linden |access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref> At Cambridge, he is Director of the Social Decision-Making Laboratory, a Professorial Fellow at Churchill College, and sits on the management board of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication. He is also affiliated with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at Yale University.<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite web |date=6 September 2016 |access-date=27 May 2017|url=https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/sander-van-der-linden|title=Sander van der Linden's Cambridge University Department Page}}</ref>
Van der Linden serves on the editorial board of several academic journals, including ''Psychology, Public Policy, and Law'';<ref name="EditorialPPL">{{cite book |url=https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/law/?tab=2|title= Psychology, Public Policy, and Law| publisher = APA| access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref> ''Personality and Individual Differences'';<ref name="EditorialPAID">{{cite web |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/personality-and-individual-differences/editorial-board|title= Personality and Individual Differences | publisher = Elsevier | access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref> ''Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology'';<ref name="EditorialSEP">{{cite web |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-research-in-ecological-and-social-psychology/editorial-board/sander-van-der-linden-phd|title= Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology| publisher = Elsevier| access-date=13 January 2023}}</ref> and the ''Journal of Risk Research''.<ref name="EditorialJRR">{{cite web |publisher=Taylor & Francis |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rjrr20/about-this-journal#aims-and-scope |title=Journal of Risk Research | access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> From 2018 to 2021, he was editor-in-chief of the ''Journal of Environmental Psychology''.<ref name="EditorialJEP">{{cite web |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-environmental-psychology/|title= Journal of Environmental Psychology| publisher = Elsevier | access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>
==Research contributions==
===Misinformation=== Van der Linden has conducted research on how to protect people from fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ortiz |first=Diego |year=2018 |url =https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181114-could-this-game-be-a-vaccine-against-fake-news |title=Could this be the cure for fake news?|journal=BBC Future}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Robson |first=David |date=May 15, 2020 |title=Vaccinating against viruses of the mind |publisher=The British Psychological Society |url=https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/vaccinating-against-viruses-mind}}</ref> The research draws on inoculation theory where, following the biomedical analogy, forewarning people and exposing them to a severely weakened dose of fake news can generate psychological resistance against it.<ref>{{cite book |last=van der Linden |first= Sander | year = 2023 | title=Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity |url= https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/foolproof-why-we-fall-for-misinformation-and-how-to-build-immunity-sander-van-der-linden?variant=39973011980366 |location= London, UK |publisher= 4th Estate/HarperCollins |page= 336 |isbn=978-0-00-846671-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change |journal=Global Challenges |volume=1|pages=1600008: 1–7 |year=2017 |last1=van der Linden |first1=Sander |last2=Leiserowitz |first2=Anthony |last3=Rosenthal |first3=Seth |last4=Maibach |first4=Edward |issue=2 |doi=10.1002/gch2.201600008|pmid=31565263 |pmc=6607159 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Maertens| first1 = R| last2 = Roozenbeek| first2 = J| last3 = Basol | first3 = M| last4 = van der Linden | first4 = S | year = 2020| title = Long-term effectiveness of inoculation against misinformation: Three longitudinal experiments | url = https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?10.1037%2Fxap0000315| journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied | volume = 27| issue = 1| pages = 1–16| doi =10.1037/xap0000315| issn=1076-898X | pmid = 33017160| s2cid = 222148288| url-access = subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Roozenbeek|first1=J|last2=van der Linden|first2=S|year=2019|title=Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation|journal=Palgrave Communications|volume=5|issue=65|doi=10.1057/s41599-019-0279-9|s2cid=195329457|doi-access=free}}</ref> In a 2021 ''Science News'' interview, he referred to his notion of inoculation as "prebunking":{{blockquote|Fact-checking and debunking is useful if you do it right. But there's the issue of ideology, of resistance to fact-checking when it's not in line with ideology. Wouldn't life be so much easier if we could prevent [disinformation] in the first place? That's the whole point of prebunking or inoculation. It's a multilayer defense system. If you can get there first, that's great. But that won't always be possible, so you still have real-time fact-checking. This multilayer firewall is going to be the most useful thing.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gramling |first=Carolyn |title=Climate change disinformation is evolving. So are efforts to fight back |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/climate-change-disinformation-denial-misinformation |magazine=Science News |date=May 18, 2021}}</ref>}}
He co-developed the fake news game ''Bad News'',<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gold |first=Hadas |year=2020 |title=Researchers have created a 'vaccine' for fake news. It's a game |journal=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/04/media/fake-news-game-vaccine/index.html}}</ref>{{sfn|van der Linden|2023|p=336}} which simulates a social media feed and teaches people about the manipulation techniques used in the production of fake news.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bad News{{snd}}Play the fake news game! |publisher=Bad News v2 |date=July 24, 2024 |url=https://www.getbadnews.com/en#intro}}</ref> A 2020 version of the game called ''GoViral!''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Reader |first=Ruth |year=2020 |title=This game can stop people from falling for COVID-19 conspiracies |journal=Fast Company |url =https://www.fastcompany.com/90563255/covid-19-conspiracies-go-viral-game}}</ref> sought to inoculate people specifically against misinformation about COVID-19.
=== Gateway belief model === Van der Linden is known for the Gateway belief model (GBM),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=Sander|last2=Leiserowitz|first2=Anthony|last3=Feinberg|first3=Geoffrey|last4=Maibach|first4=Edward|year=2015|title=The Scientific Consensus on Human-Caused Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=10|issue=2|article-number=e0118489|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0118489|pmid=25714347|pmc=4340922|doi-access=free}}</ref> a dual-process theory of reasoning. The model postulates a two-step process of attitude change. In the first step, perceptions of agreement among a group of influential referents (e.g. experts) influence key private attitudes that people may hold about an issue (e.g., that global warming is human-caused). In turn, these central cognitive and affective beliefs are hypothesized to shape public attitudes and support for science.<ref name="Mooney"/> In other words, the model suggests that what underpins people's attitudes toward (often contested) science is their perception of a scientific consensus. Correcting people's (mis)perception of scientific agreement on an issue is therefore regarded as a "gateway" cognition<ref name="Mooney">{{cite news|last=Mooney|first=Chris|year=2015|title=Researchers think they've found a "gateway belief" that leads to greater science acceptance|newspaper=The Washington Post|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/26/can-this-gateway-belief-get-people-to-accept-climate-change/}}</ref> to eliciting subsequent changes in related beliefs that people hold about contested social and scientific issues.<ref name="Sander"/>
With the consensus heuristic as the primary mechanism for initiating the attitude change, the model finds its theoretical roots in other prominent social psychological theories such as the heuristic-systematic model and the Elaboration Likelihood Model.<ref name="Sander">{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=Sander|last2=Maibach|first2=Edward|last3=Leiserowitz|first3=Anthony|year=2020|title=The gateway belief model: A large-scale replication|journal=Journal of Environmental Psychology|volume=62|pages=49–58|doi=10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.01.009|s2cid=151033547 |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289506}}</ref> The model has been applied in a variety of contexts, including climate change,<ref name = "Scientific Facts">{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=S|last2=Leiserowitz|first2=A|last3=Maibach|first3=E|year=2017|title=Scientific agreement can neutralize politicization of facts|journal=Nature Human Behaviour |volume=2|issue=1|pages=2–3|doi=10.1038/s41562-017-0259-2|pmid=30980051|s2cid=3287707|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/278828}}</ref><ref name = "Climate">{{cite journal|last1=Kerr|first2 = John|last2=Wilson|first = Marc| year=2018|title=Changes in perceived scientific consensus shift beliefs about climate change and GM food safety|journal = PLOS ONE|volume = 13|issue = 7|article-number = e0200295|doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0200295|pmid = 29979762|pmc = 6034897|bibcode = 2018PLoSO..1300295K| url= |doi-access = free}}</ref> vaccination,<ref name = "Vaccine">{{cite journal|last=Hotchkiss|first = Michael|year=2015|title=Emphasizing consensus about safety boosts support for vaccines|journal = Princeton University News| url=https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S45/02/77M41/index.xml?section=topstories}}</ref> the Brexit debate,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harris |first1=Adam|last2=Sildmäe|first2=Oliver|last3=Speekenbrink|first3=Maarten|last4= Hahn| first4 = Ulrike| year=2020|title= The potential power of experience in communications of expert consensus levels|journal=Journal of Risk Research|volume=22|issue=5|pages=593–609|doi=10.1080/13669877.2018.1440416|s2cid=148609227|url=https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/28813/1/28813.pdf}}</ref> and GMOs.<ref name = "GMO">{{cite journal|last=Dixon|first = Graham| year=2018|title=Applying the Gateway Belief Model to Genetically Modified Food Perceptions: New Insights and Additional Questions|journal = Journal of Communication|volume = 66|issue = 6|pages = 888–908| doi=10.1111/jcom.12260}}</ref> One analysis from Skeptical Science of 37 published papers notes that about 86% of them support the broad tenets of the GBM.<ref name = "cook">{{cite journal|last=Cook|first = John| year=2020|title=The Consensus on Consensus Messaging|journal = Skeptical Science|url= https://skepticalscience.com/consensus-consensus-messaging.html}}</ref>
===Conspiracy theories=== Van der Linden and others have surveyed more than 5,000 Americans online about their political preferences, asking them to respond to questions developed to measure conspiratorial thinking and paranoia. They found that those at the extremes of the political spectrum were more conspiratorial than those in the middle. Researchers also found that conservatives were more prone to conspiracy thinking than liberals. Van der Linden speculates that this may reflect strong identification with conservative groups and values, and their attempts to manage uncertainty.<ref name="Miller">{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Greg |title=The enduring allure of conspiracies |journal=Knowable Magazine |date=14 January 2021|doi-access=free |doi=10.1146/knowable-011421-2 |access-date=9 December 2021 |url=https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2021/the-enduring-allure-conspiracies}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
===Books=== * ''Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity'' (HarperCollins), 2023. {{ISBN|978-0008466718}} * ''Risk and Uncertainty in a Post-Truth Society'' (Earthscan Risk in Society), 2019. {{ISBN|978-0367235437}}
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [http://www.sdmlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:van der Linden, Sander}} Category:Living people Category:Dutch social psychologists Category:Dutch psychologists Category:Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Category:1986 births Category:University of Amsterdam alumni Category:California State University, Chico, alumni Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics Category:Academics of the University of Cambridge