Parents who Help Parents Overcome Irrationality

I like this new blog which offers a creative way to respond to the dangerous and irrational anti-vaccination movement that has swayed too many parents. Moms who Vax presents real discussions of mothers, rather than scientists or policymakers, to send the message that the science is solid on vaccines.

I study risk perceptions and decision-making enviornments - for example, most recently, in the context of age, future financial risk and pension policies, and I have seen up close how easy it is to affect people's choices by small changes in the presentation or ordering of information. Policymakers can help, as we have argued here and here. But in the end, most choices are made privately and it is the culture and the discussions available on the Internet (where Jenny McCarthy, one of the zealot anti-vaccination activists described as obtaining her medical degree from "The University of Google").