How Social Information Shapes Belief: Applications in Evidence Interpretations and High-Stakes Decision-Making

WHEN

26 March 2026
Thursday
12.30pm - 1.30pm Australia/Sydney

WHERE

City campus
Building 10
Level 2, Room 470
Ultimo NSW, Australia

COST

Free admission

RSVP

About the talk

This presentation explores experimental research on the cognitive mechanisms behind how individuals form and maintain beliefs in response to social information. By analysing data from experimental studies, the session examines how specific cues—such as perceived consensus and repetition—influence judgment regarding claims and evidence.

The findings demonstrate that human belief systems are heavily swayed by the perceived opinions of others, even when those social impressions are indirect or based on misleading data. Understanding this dynamic is essential for interpreting evidence and improving communication strategies within high-stakes decision-making environments.

Guest speaker

Dr Saoirse Connor Desai is a Lecturer in Psychology in the Faculty of Health at the University of Technology Sydney.

Her research uses online experimental methods to examine how people form and maintain beliefs from social information. Her work focuses on the role of cues such as consensus, repetition, and related forms of social influence in shaping judgments about claims and evidence.

She has published extensively on belief persistence and social information effects, with a broader interest in how beliefs are shaped in uncertain and information‑rich environments.

This event is supported by funding from the UTS Key Technology Partner Visiting Fellowship Program and hosted by Dr Kai Lin, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Convenor of the Translational Criminology Seminar Series and Policing Research Theme Leader in the Crime & Security Science Research Group (CaSS).

Event coordination is led by Dr Kai Lin, with administrative support from Ms Shannon Moriarty in the School of International Studies and Education.