Mental immunity is a psychological theory that is also known as cognitive immunology. With origins dating back to 70 years, this field of research is based on the premise that not only is there an immune system for the body, but there is one for the mind as well.
A mental immune system
The concept of mental immunity was formulated by Professor Andy Norman, director of the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University
- Sifts through ideas, information and other forms of external stimuli to identify harmful or incorrect information that enters our mind, so that it can be recognized as such and then promptly rejected
The benefits of mental immunity
The immune systems of our minds can be strengthened against ideological corruption and mind parasites, which increases our capacity for critical thinking
- Developing greater cognitive flexibility allows us to change our minds faster when new, better-evidenced information is presented to us
- Moving away from rigid thinking patterns improves our relationship with information and our resultant actions
How to strengthen your mental immune system
Build awareness of misinformation
- Develop healthy meta-beliefs
- Practise self-reflection
- Diversify your information sources and dig deeper into the underlying research to fully understand whether you are unconsciously being sold misinformation
