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| "Old Friends" (1956) by Norman Rockwell |
41. According to Tversky and Kahneman, the human mind is "just bad at seeing things it did not expect to see, and a bit too eager to see what it expected to see" (40-41).
If evidence is not always enough to counteract conformational bias, is there a way to change what someone expects to see? Can you think of other ways to persuade someone other than giving them evidence?
Theoretically, you could try to change one's expectations. Giving evidence to someone who refuses to listen is useless to both parties. If you can convince a person to explain their expectations then it could be possible to explain why those expectations are wrong or unrealistic. This could lead to the person being more open to the evidence. However, it might be even harder to accomplish this.
ReplyDelete-Libby Revel
Yes I do think that there are other ways rather than just stating evidence to convince someone's expectations. For me, my mind goes to religion, more specifically Christianity. When Christians preach the word of God we don't use physical evidence. We use our stories and our faith in God. These are things that you cannot see physically but rather feel. This can cause a chain reaction in others and lead them to the Word of God.
ReplyDelete-Glennon Selke
You have a great point, Glennon. I was not sure what method I would use to change someone’s expectations without physical proof, but after reading your comment, I can say using a person’s beliefs is a great way to persuade them. People’s perceptions are strongly rooted in their beliefs and it is their beliefs that guide their judgment. So, if you could find a way to align an expectation with a person’s belief, they will more than likely be swayed.
Delete-Alejandro Arriaga
ReplyDeleteBias is a hard thing to change. But everyone wants to change it, our whole society believes it can be changed. Everyone has always tried, no one has gotten far enough. This is just how our brains our wired. We see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe.
I personally cannot think of a way to change someone’s bias without evidence, maybe persuading them to go along with your bias with your opinion, but all in all that is still a bias... if that makes any sense.
Morgan Anderson
It is difficult to try and convince someone that what they expect to see is not correct. People are not necessarily open to criticism and refuse to listen to new evidence if it means that what they expected and what they believe is wrong. Persuasion is an art and some people are able to master it with the help of character and some minor manipulation. It is possible to persuade someone without evidence as long as it is coming from someone who knows how the human mind works, and how they can use body language, diction, and conviction to convince someone that they should attempt to see something in another light. It’s difficult, but it is possible to sway opinion in many other ways such as the listed ones.
ReplyDelete- Mindy Corbin
I don't think you can change what someone 'expects' or 'wants' to see. In their mind they have it made up that, that is what is going to occur. If you have factual evidence, depending on the person, you may be able to change their mind, but the human mind is strong in itself and once someone has made up what they want to see, they expect to see it, and are often shocked when they don't even if you had explained to them it wouldn't.
ReplyDelete