Psychological science is ‘all in’ on examining AI, loneliness, and misinformation

Seattle — Psychologists are leveraging their science to tackle today’s critical societal issues, including everything from political divisiveness to technology and public health.

“All of these issues have one thing in common: At the heart of them are people,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, APA’s CEO. “If those issues are going to be resolved, we have to use the science of people—the science of human behavior.”

At APA 2024, thousands of psychologists came together in downtown Seattle to share ideas and celebrate accomplishments, but more importantly to deepen the field’s commitment to being agents of change in today’s world.

In a gathering centered on connection, innovation, and learning, leaders shared how they are working across contexts, translating science into actionable advice, and transcending the traditional bounds of the profession to move the needle on everything from misinformation to artificial intelligence (AI).

Tackling society’s most pervasive challenges—things like addiction, inequity, and political hostility—may require attending to a seemingly individual problem: loneliness. Social disconnection, the feeling of being isolated, invisible, and insignificant, has powerful effects on emotional, mental, and physical health, but its influence is also felt in wider circles, according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community (PDF, 8.4MB).

“We see these effects at a community level, too,” in education, the economy, and other sectors of society, said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University who advises national and global leaders on how to address loneliness.

But psychologists are working on solutions for individuals as well as communities. “What is so incredible about this is it gives us hope that coming together and being more socially connected can solve [a number of] crises,” she said.

[Speaking of Psychology: Living in a lonely world]

Social connection isn’t simply a numbers game though, and Ramani Durvasula, PhD, founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training, and Consulting and a professor emerita of psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, argues that society needs to shift its focus from relationship quantity to relationship quality.

“So often loneliness is considered a numbers game—how many family and friends do you have around you?” Durvasula said. “But a lot of people are very existentially lonely because they feel alienated and don’t feel heard.”

Making connections doesn’t always come easy as an adult, but psychologist Marisa Franco, PhD, an author, TED speaker, and assistant clinical professor at the University of Maryland, translates knowledge from the field into actionable insights that can help.

For one, cultural beliefs can influence what sort of relationships we see as legitimate during various stages of life: romantic partners versus friends versus family. Research on the “liking gap” shows we tend to underestimate how much others like us. That suggests engaging with new connections may be more fruitful than we expect, Franco said.

“People like you more than you think,” Franco said. “After reading my book, my niece said: ‘For friendship to happen, someone has to be brave. So be brave.’”

Psychologists are well aware of the costs of health misinformation—an “infodemic” that has led to countless lost lives—and have spearheaded much of the research on correcting misleading medical information. Those proven strategies, including prebunking and leveraging trusted sources, are outlined in APA’s consensus statement, Using Psychological Science to Understand and Fight Health Misinformation.

The latest science suggests we still have a lot to learn about the role misinformation plays in our lives, as well as what truly works to change health behavior.

[Related topic: Misinformation and disinformation]

Combating misinformation requires more than just correcting facts. At the core of these beliefs are trust and relationships. While trust in government and other institutions has eroded, most U.S. adults still trust their family doctors. Emphasizing the consensus among physicians on health topics such as vaccination can help correct false information, according to research by Jay Van Bavel, PhD, a professor of psychology and neural science at New York University.

“If we don’t find ways to build generalized sources for trust, it will forever create the conditions for misinformation to spread even more broadly,” he said.

Research by Dolores Albarracín, PhD, director of the communication science division at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, suggests while correcting health misinformation with psychological interventions can change beliefs, it may do little to influence attitudes and behaviors.

Bypassing misinformation by emphasizing other benefits of changing health behavior or using different strategies—such as improving access to health care—are more effective approaches for achieving outcomes such as vaccination adherence, she found.

[Speaking of Psychology: How to recognize and combat “fake news”]

The latest data suggest that misinformation is actually quite rare: It makes up just a small part (less than 1%) of the media we consume each day—but its effects can be very dangerous.

“The problem is not that we’re being exposed to falsehoods—or at least that’s not the sole problem,” said Tania Israel, PhD, a professor of counseling psychology and associate dean for DEI at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “It’s that we’re being exposed to divisive narratives, and our minds are predisposed to buy into them.”

By emphasizing our differences over our similarities and playing on cognitive biases, social and mass media stoke political division. Survey after survey shows we’re not as far apart as we think on the gamut of political issues, from abortion to gun laws. We constantly overestimate how extreme, hateful, and undemocratic the people on the other side of the political spectrum are, Israel said.

But Israel’s message is a positive one. With their expertise in the individual, interpersonal, and societal forces that fuel division, she said psychologists are perfectly poised to understand, inform, and heal the gap.

“The political divide is not primarily about policy; it’s about people, she said. “And who understands people better than psychologists?”

AI isn’t new, but it’s more salient than ever and undeniably reshaping our world. Psychologists’ work in this area is also not new—the field’s expertise in human factors, human-technology interaction, and equity have prepared psychologists to meet this moment. How can psychologists help guide this powerful technology with thoughtful design and integration to make the world a safer, fairer, and more efficient place?

[Related topic: Artificial intelligence and machine learning]

“As psychologists, we stand at a unique intersection of this change, with the opportunity—and I’d argue, the responsibility—to shape the future of mental health in profound and unprecedented ways,” said Jessica Jackson, PhD, a counseling psychologist and mental health equity advocate who chairs the APA Mental Health Technology Advisory Committee.

“Consider how AI can be a powerful tool for psychology in your current role,” Jackson said. “Think about your role in the revolution that is happening.”

Meanwhile, AI’s ability to handle large amounts of data will provide opportunities and challenges for researchers, said Ericka Rovira, PhD, a cognitive psychologist and professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. “We as psychologists play an important role in helping people to discern what is factual,” she said.

“AI represents the world based on the data it has been trained on, versus the way we know the world to be,” Rovira added.

[Related: Addressing equity and ethics in artificial intelligence]

Psychological researchers will also play a critical role in helping to define the parameters for the ethical use of AI.

“We need to continue to adapt and explain what some of these tools are useful for and where human expertise is still needed,” said Tara Behrend, a professor at Michigan State University’s School of Human Resources and Labor Relations who studies human-technology interaction.

In the therapeutic space, AI undoubtedly holds power and promise. It can enable psychologists to exponentially grow their reach, serving populations around the world that may otherwise never access mental health care.

“AI can enrich clinical practice and allow us as therapists to lean into human connection,” such as recording session data to ease documentation and supervision, said Margaret Morris, PhD, a clinical psychologist who works at the intersection of technology and mental health. It can also help incorporate patients’ data from daily life to broaden therapists’ understanding of their patients as well as patients’ understanding of themselves, she said.