(16) social psych

what are the ways that persuasion can harm or help us

false beliefs, attitudes around equality, climate change skepticism, and healthier living

true or false: persuasion isn’t inherently good or bad

true

good =

education (when we believe it)

bad =

propaganda (when we don’t believe it)

“when blessed with _, _, and _ we do resist unwanted persuasion”

logic, information, and motivation

define attitude inoculation

exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so when stronger attacks come they can refute them

define counterargument

reasons why a persuasive message might be wrong

what is cialdini’s poison parasite defense

combining a poison (strong counter) with a parasite (similarity to opponent) to bring counterarguments to mind

to counter fake news people were exposed to fake news stories claiming scientists have yet to reach a consensus whether global warming was caused by humans… what was the result?

those who saw the false claim were later more likely to believe no consensus was reached; but if readers were warned that motivated groups may use misleading tactics to claim no consensus, they were less likely to believe it

what happened when researchers inoculated seventh graders against peer pressures to smoke

they were half as likely to begin smoking

what countries restrict children advertisements

belgium, denmark, greece, ireland, and sweden

why did some countries ban children advertisments

children were having a hard time distinguishing commercials from programs and were starting to trust and badger adults for these products

true or false: children can be taught to resist deceptive ads

true

true or false: middle schoolers who can think critically about ads are also better at resisting peer pressure

true

what are people who live among diverse views more likely to do

only modify their views if the argument is credible

to challenge one’s views is more likely to solidify their position than undermine it, especially if….

the threatening material can be examined with like-minded people

how to build resistance to false messages without becoming closed to valid ones:

be an active listener and force yourself to counterargue