#116: Change Beliefs, Change Opinions? with Yamil Velez Artwork

Opinion Science

A show about the psychology of opinions, where they come from, and how they change. Interviews with experts and deep dives into areas of research uncover the basic psychology of persuasion, communication, and public opinion. Hosted by social psychologist, Andy Luttrell.

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Opinion Science

#116: Change Beliefs, Change Opinions? with Yamil Velez

May 04, 2026 • Andy Luttrell • Season 8 • Episode 8

0:00 | 59:04

Yamil Velez is an assistant professor of political science at Columbia University, where he studies what makes political opinions hard to shift. He’s been using innovative new methods to test important ideas about how people arrive at their views and what it takes to change them. We talk about the relationship between beliefs and opinions, why correcting misinformation doesn’t necessarily move opinions, and what happens when persuasive messages are tailored to the specific reasons people hold their views.

Yamil shares his work using large language models to generate personalized arguments, showing that people will update their beliefs pretty readily—but only some of those belief changes actually translate into attitude change. Along the way, we explore what this means for persuasion, polarization, and the future of using AI to study (and maybe influence) public opinion.

For a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/

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