FUNICULAR OF TIME: THE STORY OF ONE EXPERIMENT WITH A 40-YEAR CATAMNESIS

Abstract

Introduction. Relevance of the research topic. Critical thinking is considered the basis of achieving life and professional success and is considered one of the most significant trends in the modern educational process. Analysis of recent research and publications. The era of the industrial revolution 4.0 is characterized by the active development of digital technologies, which causes the constant circulation of large flows of information, among which fakes often occur, so it requires the formation of skills for working with information, its correct selection based on critical evaluation. Formulation of the problem. The problem of the probability of dissemination of known fake information in society is not only interesting from the point of view of psychohygiene and psychoprophylaxis, but also important in relation to the information security of society. Formulation of the purpose of the research. The goal is to investigate the process of forming trust in fake information and its spread in society. Presenting main material. Research materials and methods. From the beginning, the methodological basis of the study was the understanding of a person as a biopsychosocial being who exchanges information with other people in the process of social interaction. It was planned to study the mechanism of formation and speed of spread of rumors based on fake information. The experiment was conducted from the beginning in 1985 as part of a student scientific group on philosophy, and almost 40 years later, an unexpected continuation happened, which prompted the writing of this article. Research results. In 1985, a group of students conducted an experiment on critical thinking and the spread of rumors in society, for which a story was invented based on a real event that had obvious signs of being fake. However, a week later, the students heard the story told in the funicular from the mouths of other passengers. The continuation of the experiment was the publication of this fictional story as completely real in one of the newspapers in the 1990s, and then – its retelling this year by one of the modern students, who cited it as an example of an emergency situation. Conclusions and prospects for further research. It was found that a certain number of people in a random gathering take information literally, without subjecting it to logical analysis and without drawing independent conclusions. Emotionally colored information, which has signs of mystery and exclusivity, is perceived by them without proper critical analysis, because a sense of involvement is triggered, which contributes to the growth of self-esteem and self-importance. It is necessary to develop appropriate protective mechanisms both for each individual and for the media space as a whole. Educational and training work on development and improvement of critical thinking among the population can be considered an important psychoprophylactic task of medical psychologists. In the future, it is planned to investigate the effectiveness of the formation of critical thinking in the process of professional training of medical psychologists.