The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
April 4, 2022
“What does the phrase ‘change your mind’ even mean?” asks journalist McRaney (You Are Not So Smart) in this fascinating take. To investigate how people’s opinions can be changed, he speaks with a former “9/11 truther” who was a “leader in the... community” before having a change of heart; interviews psychologists who suggest that when trying to persuade someone, a “message can’t seem threatening to a person’s group identity, or the central route will remain barricaded”; and spends time with gay rights activists who use a method called “deep canvassing,” which involves sharing one’s own story and “non-judgemental listening” to win people over, because “the only way they are going to change their mind,” the rationale goes, “is by changing their own mind.” The author’s approach to persuasion calls for compassion: “When interacting with someone who is vaccine-hesitant, you’ll get much further if you frame it as respectful collaboration toward a shared goal, based on mutual fears and anxieties, and demonstrate you are open to their perspective and input.” McRaney makes a convincing case that “we must avoid debate and start having conversations” and backs it up with what science has to say about “replac old ignorance with new wisdom.” The result is an eye-opening survey filled with heart.