I came across a radio segment on NPR that I think basically makes arguments on P&N moot. No amount of postings or propaganda from the Left or the Right is likely to change anyone's mind on the issues.
NPR Talk of the Nation link
Interview from last month with Princeton neuroscientist Sam Wang starts around 7:30 in the segment. His talk is in the context of the "birther" movement, and why people believe things even when they are proven not to be true.
Essentially there are several quirks of memory that allow false beliefs.
(1) Source Amnesia - human memory remembers things, but doesn't really take context into account. If someone hears a false statement, they may not remember where they heard it or who they heard it from. They may not question the statement or belief.
(2) Biased Assimilation - People tend to accept evidence that fits with prior belief, and filter out facts that do not fit with prior belief.
(3) Emotional Response - Things that elicit strong emotions are more strongly recorded in memory. The woman shouting about "taking back America" probably had a strong emotional reaction to seeing Obama elected President.
There are some techniques for blunting the effect of false information: State the facts concisely, but do not repeat the falsehood. Use images to dispel emotional response. Question the source of rumors.
This is pretty depressing actually.
I have friends who believe that Latinos are taking over the country, and who insist that will will all be "forced" to speak and write Spanish in the near future because of all the immigrants. Nothing I ever say to them can convince them otherwise. Even the very obvious Americanization of the children of these immigrants does not convince them.
NPR Talk of the Nation link
Interview from last month with Princeton neuroscientist Sam Wang starts around 7:30 in the segment. His talk is in the context of the "birther" movement, and why people believe things even when they are proven not to be true.
Essentially there are several quirks of memory that allow false beliefs.
(1) Source Amnesia - human memory remembers things, but doesn't really take context into account. If someone hears a false statement, they may not remember where they heard it or who they heard it from. They may not question the statement or belief.
(2) Biased Assimilation - People tend to accept evidence that fits with prior belief, and filter out facts that do not fit with prior belief.
(3) Emotional Response - Things that elicit strong emotions are more strongly recorded in memory. The woman shouting about "taking back America" probably had a strong emotional reaction to seeing Obama elected President.
There are some techniques for blunting the effect of false information: State the facts concisely, but do not repeat the falsehood. Use images to dispel emotional response. Question the source of rumors.
This is pretty depressing actually.
I have friends who believe that Latinos are taking over the country, and who insist that will will all be "forced" to speak and write Spanish in the near future because of all the immigrants. Nothing I ever say to them can convince them otherwise. Even the very obvious Americanization of the children of these immigrants does not convince them.
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