The Communal reinforcement reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Communal reinforcement

Communal reinforcement is a social phenomenon in which a concept or idea is repeatedly asserted very frequently in a community, that its existence is reinforced to become a strong belief in many people's minds; regardless of whether sufficient empirical evidence has been presented to support it. Over the years such ideas may simply be regarded as facts, and be further reinforced by publications in the mass media, books, etc. despite their lack of any significant scientific basis.

Concepts that are communally reinforced by their nature:

• Urban legends
• Myths
• Rumors (regardless of them being true or not)
• Belief systems of religions, and political organizations

See also: Appeal to belief, Confirmation bias , meme, groupthink

External link

• Skeptic dictionary entry

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