Urban legends circulate from person to person, coming from friends of friends, for years, even centuries. One urban legend that says a cat will steal a baby’s breath in its sleep. While anyone can believe this urban legend, usually people who are pregnant or have young children are most concerned with it. Although urban legends can vary in their details, this one usually consists of a cat climbing into a crib with a baby and stealing its breath. Supposedly, this happens because either the cat is attracted to the milk scent on a baby’s breath, or it is simply jealous that the owners are giving more attention to the baby. Information on this topic is found mostly on the internet. This story has been going around since the 17th century and can still be heard of today. This belief is extraordinary because not only are cats not known to do this, it also seems impossible that a cat would do this.

There are several personal reports from parents stating that the cause of death of their infant was the cat climbing into the crib and stealing the baby’s breath. While this may not be the official cause, it is kind of an “everybody knows” thing among the believers and storytellers alike. There is also a coroner report from 1791 that confirmed that this was in fact the cause of a particular baby’s death. Although this is not necessarily fact based evidence, it is enough to keep the urban legend going around. The previously mentioned coroner’s claim was later proven false. Babies can suffer from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which is what had actually happened in that case. To further argue against the urban legend, experts have said that a cat would not do this.

Various factors have contributed to the belief and spread of this urban legend. Some people are simply misinformed on the subject. There isn’t much evidence on either side of the topic, so people typically just pass the information along to others as a precaution. The little evidence that there is against the claim can often be misinterpreted. People even mistake SIDS for the cat actually stealing the breath from the baby. Any animal could potentially roll onto a child as well, which may align with other variations of this urban legend. Parents could make these misconceptions because they want to blame something for the death of their child. Another reason could be due to the common negative stereotypes about cats.

Society as a whole typically has a negative view of cats. These views have been held for centuries, regardless of how many people have them as pets and enjoy them. While this urban legend can be spread by anyone, it usually resonates more with expecting or new parents. There are different reasons as to why people maintain this belief. First, cats are usually associated with evil or the devil, making people weary of them in the first place. Second, when a coroner, or someone with some kind of first-hand experience speaks out confirming that this happened, it makes it a lot easier to believe. While social factors are a big part in maintaining these beliefs, there are psychological reasons that people may believe it in the first place.

Social support plays a big psychological role in maintaining a belief. Talking to people who also believe this urban legend further strengthens the belief. Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the impact that starting a story with “a friend of a friend” has. This makes the account more personal and easier to believe. There is also a fear that parents have of something happening to their baby. Even if they may not actually believe that a cat can steal the breath from their baby in the night, the stereotypes about cats alone can cause people to keep the legend circulating, just in case.

Citations

Castro, J. (2012). Do Cats Really Kill Babies by Sucking Away Their Breath? Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/22449-do-cats-really-kill-babies-by-sucking-away-theirbreath.html.

Mikklenson, D. (2007). Cats Suck Babies’ Breath. Retrieved from https://www.snopes.com/factcheck/murderous-moggies/.

Turner, B. Do cats really steal babies’ breath? Retrieved from https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/do-cats-really-steal-babies-breath.htm.

The anti-vaccination movement has taken social media by storm. From anti-vaccination propaganda, to websites, to support groups, there is a lot of controversy over the topic. The belief that vaccines can cause autism is considered to be an extraordinary belief, but is relatively new. The idea that vaccines are bad in general can be traced back to 19^th century England. People began refusing to vaccinate infants against smallpox, and those in positions of power were not ensuring that this was being enforced anyways. Eventually, there was a huge outbreak of smallpox, but this doesn’t discourage anti-vaccination supporters today. This belief is problematic because of a term called herd immunity. Herd immunity happens when a lot of people in one area receive a vaccine, therefore protecting those who cannot receive certain vaccines from life potentially threatening diseases. When people don’t vaccinate their children by choice, they are essentially breaking this herd immunity, which puts the lives of children who are unable to get vaccines at risk. Today, anti-vaccination propaganda claims that vaccines cause autism. Information that supports or deters these claims can be found anywhere on the internet, however it is not all true. Some articles that may seem scientific, are not; and this easy access to misinformation is actually influencing whether or not people are vaccinating their children.

There is a lot of factual evidence surrounding the positive side of vaccinations. Proof of this can be seen when something like herd immunity is compromised. If a preventable disease breaks out in a community, the people who can’t receive vaccinations are the ones who are most likely to get the disease. There has been research that suggests that there is no link between vaccines and autism, which is one of the main concerns of the anti-vaccination movement. The idea that the chemicals in vaccines are what causes autism have also been deterred. When individuals don’t vaccinate their children because they don’t want them to have autism, they are putting their child and the rest of the community at risk for potentially fatal diseases.

On the other hand, many anti-vaccination supporters also provide facts that appear to show vaccines do cause autism. Many supporters of the movement tend to believe that the side effects of vaccines are what cause autism.  Those who support vaccinations commonly assume that anti-vaccination supporters do not understand herd immunity, but they do. They understand that not vaccinating children has its risks, but the side effects are also risky. There have been articles about hiding information in regards to vaccines causing autism. One particular article states that a doctor hid the fact that he found evidence that vaccines cause autism. When a doctor provides information like that, it is hard to ignore, which is why many anti-vaccination supporters have clung to this idea.

So, why do people still believe that vaccines cause autism, even when there is evidence that it is not true? The social and cognitive aspects of this go hand in hand. One of the main reasons is due to the internet, specifically with the prevalence of social media. In today’s society, it is much easier to consult the internet as opposed to a health professional. Because of this, people wholeheartedly believe information that is actually misinforming them. They are viewing data and research that is not entirely accurate and taking it at face value. Some anti-vaccination supporters think that vaccines don’t work, and others believe conspiracy theories that the government is causing illnesses and diseases intentionally through vaccinations. Predatory journals, which can publish any information even if it is not scientifically accurate, can lead people to believe these things about vaccines as well. Regardless of the reason, anti-vaccination supporters will choose this data over advice from medical professionals.

Anti-vaccination supporters find evidence to support their case primarily on the internet. However, the reasons that they believe the information that they read can be different from person to person. Biases help a person maintain the beliefs that they have about a situation. In the case of anti-vaccination supporters, they are looking for evidence to confirm their ideas, rather than deny them. This is called a confirmation bias and can cause people to believe information that they see relevant to their topic, while ignoring counterevidence. There is also a term called the availability error, which refers to retaining information that one sees as significant. When it comes to anti-vaccination supporters, the anti-vaccination propaganda is more appealing, and therefore better remembered and enforced throughout their community.

American Academy of Pediatrics (2018). Vaccine Safety: Examine the Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/Pages/Vaccine-Studies-Examine-the-Evidence.aspx

Durbach, N. (2004). Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England, 1853-1907. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cphJifOrs2AC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=anti+vaccination+movement&ots=zoc55jOaNs&sig=Sfd5eSEpJt05o_fpdr0gU-3QPWg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Health Impact News (2014). CDC Whistleblower Emerges: Admits Coverup on Vaccine Link to Autism. Retrieved from http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/cdc-whistleblower-comes-forward-admits-coverup-on-vaccine-link-to-autism/

Jameson, C. (2014). Vaccines Cause Autism. Age of Autism. Retrieved from https://www.ageofautism.com/2014/08/vaccines-cause-autism.html

Kata, A. (2012). Anti-vaccine activists, Web 2.0, and the postmodern paradigm- An overview of Tactics and tropes used online by the anti-vaccination movement. Vaccine, 30(25). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X11019086

Van Zandt, P. (2019). Cognitive Biases [PowerPoint slides].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2017). Vaccines Protect Your Community. Retrieved from https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/work/protection/index.html