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The Conversation ·For the curious

Everyone Wants to Think They’re Open-minded – Here’s Why Most People Aren’t

by Daryl Van Tongeren, Professor of Psychology, Hope College

Published 2026-06-10 12:31:48+00:00

Why does admitting you might be wrong feel like losing your grip on the world?

0:00 / 7:15 · Narrator Rasalgethi

Context

Writing on 10 June 2026, a social psychologist names the hidden cost of changing a deeply held opinion. People generally like to consider themselves open to new ideas. But dropping a core belief is rarely just about admitting a factual mistake. It usually means surrendering the mental armor that keeps daily anxiety in check. That dynamic forces an uncomfortable question: if being truly open-minded leaves a person more anxious and less secure, why bother doing it at all?

Show notes

An examination of why people resist changing their core beliefs, grounded in psychological research on how worldviews manage anxiety. The findings outline a trade-off between certainty, which provides comfort but breeds intolerance, and open-mindedness, which makes people more accepting but increases their distress. The author makes a case for practicing "existential humility" by learning to tolerate the discomfort of uncertainty.

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