Do you ever get into an argument where you know you're right
And yet even with your eloquent explanation and
All of the facts on your side, you just can't get through
Is there a strategic way to successfully
Convince somebody and change their opinion ?
The first and most disappointing thing that you have to come to terms with is this
Facts don't convince people. Especially if they already have an opinion
We all like to THINK that
Information or indisputable study would convince US in an argument
But study after study shows that when certain facts don't conform to our beliefs,
Our brains are happy to disregard or simply rationalize them away
In one study, scientists ask people if they believe in man-made climate change
And then categorize them as believers or deniers
They then told some that scientist have reevaluated the data and concluded that
Predictions of the future were much worse than before
While some others were told the situation wasn't nearly as bad as once thought
But these facts have some interesting results on their beliefs.
People who didn't believe in climate change and were told that things would be much worse
Completely ignored this fact and their opinions were unchanged
But if they were told that things weren't nearly as bad
Their beliefs moved much farther in that direction
And the same thing happened to those who believed strongly in climate change
When told that things are now predicted to be worse
They shifted their opinions more strongly in that direction
Whereas those told it wouldn't be so bad didn't change their opinions at all
The facts only caused people to polarize
It turns out that once formed, people's impressions and opinions are extremely perseverant
And cognitive scientists say
Much of this is actually linked to our abilities as a human to cooperate
A skill that no other animals have
To the degree that humans do from hunting and gathering to agriculture and modern computers
Our cooperation allows us to rely on one and another's expertise instead of knowing everything
As a result we can hardly tell where our own understanding ends and another begin
Ultimately strong beliefs don't actually come from deep understandings
This is known as the "Illusion of Explanatory Depth"
If I asked you to rate your understanding of something like a toilet
Zippers or computers chances are
You believe you know way more than you actually do
Go on and try to explain step by step how a toilet or a zipper functions in detail.
Sometimes this simple act can expose how baseless our and others opinion is
In one study, when participants were asked to rate their of public policies
Like healthcare and then later asked to explain in as much detail as possible
The impact of implementing those policies
They would quickly turn down the intensity of their beliefs
Having been exposed to their own ignorance
How else can we overcome these tendencies and convince people in an argument?
It turns out that we need to focus on the common motive
As per by Tali Sharot(?) a cognitive neural scientist
That is focus on the motives and things that you can agree on
One study looking at parent afraid to vaccine their children
Because the fear of autism
Found that they simply told them the facts
That the science shows there is no link between the two they wouldn't listen
But when they focus on the common goal of protecting their children
And explained what vaccines are meant to prevent
Things like measles, mumps, polio, tetanus and
How those diseases impact children who get them without even mentioning autism
They were more likely to have their kids vaccinated after
Finally humans are known to have something called an in-group and out-group bias
We tend to be of outsiders or people who we see as different from us
This can come in the form of race, religion, physical traits, gender
But also in the form of ideas. So people who don't share your ideas
Are part of your out-group. Studies have been done to show that
If you can find a way to relate to people and have them see you in a different light
To see you as a part of their in-group, they're much more likely to listen to you
Than if they think you're nothing like them
Find the group that you're both part of and use that as a point of personal connection
Now if you ever wanna challenge your own opinions or become more aware to those opinions contrary to those to your own
Then you should definitely check out vubble
A really awesome new company that I love which uses machine learning to
Send you stuff you'll like but with a twist that also sending stuff
That will nudge you outside of your filter bubble
It's a cool tool that'll analyzes you and your interests, your questions, pictures and videos
And then helps you flex your mental muscles
With some stuff that wouldn't normally be in your feed
It's a really nice way to expose yourself to a broader view of the world online
And it's completely free!
You can check out the chat bar on facebook by clicking the link below
And then click in the get started button to launch the chat bar
Help mind your feed and feed your mind
And subscribe for more weekly science videos every Thursday :)