University of Wisconsin, Parkside
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Created: December 13, 2009
Latest Update: December 18, 2009
takata@uwp.edu
jeannecurran@habermas.org

Topic of the Week: Fear and Persuasion

This image of fear above was meant to serve as a note or bookmark or sticker in the spirit of Ari Kletzky's traffic signs. Kletzky wanted to post signs on traffic islands to remind us to think and talk to one another. Susan and I want to display them everywhere, as cards, bookmarks, colorful reminders, funky jewelry, wearable art. Without the damage of posting them permanently. Give them away. Free. To everyone. Alter them and make your own, to express the projects and ideas that you're passionate about. Sometimes more words really can be the answer to words with which you disagree.

Please note that because this image is intended for the Dear Habermas Site we used irony. That's why the bright red. That's why we used the word "fear." We want you to understand that fear can triumph over reason and good sense. ALWAYS CONSIDER YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE FOR ALL MESSAGES. Messages can backfire when you fail to do that. jeanne

That means don't use this piece of art to convince someone who's already afraid of big government that DOING SOMETHING, however small that something may be in the long run, is in fact a good way to begin and accustom people to change. We believe that something has to be done about our health system. Take that into account as you work with us and exchange ideas with us. But bear in mind also that the status quo, in which people are dying for want of health care is not acceptable.

 

References

• The American Soldier in World War II. This document, available on the Internet through the Government Archives, explains the role of research in World War II.

  "The Army Research Branch (ARB) was established in October 1941 as part of the War Department General Staff and later became part of the Information and Education Division (IED) of the United States Army Service Forces (USASF). Because of this organizational change there are records of "The American Soldier in World War II" in both Record Group 165 (Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs) and Record Group 160 (Records of Headquarters Army Service Forces). Because the primary mission of IED was to provide the Secretary of War, later the Secretary of Defense, with its professional advice and information, the largest portion of the records of "The American Soldier in World War II" are in Record Group 330 (Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense)."

• Electronic Records in the National Archives for World War II Research By Theodore J. Hull, Fall 1994, Vol. 26, No. 3. Accessed by jeanne on December 18, 2009. This is what we mean by a "source." There is no guarantee that every soldier that answered questions in these surveys did so honestly, or even thoughtfully. But there was a real attempt to record factually how soldiers felt about all these issues.

  There will still be random errors of all sorts in this data. Someone had a headache and didn't pay attention. Someone lied, for whatever reason. Someone hated the Army, and that influenced her answer. And so on. Collecting data doesn't assure you that you've got "truth," but it does tell you much more than you could ever know by using personal perceptions and estimates. ("Well, I knew this sargeant who said that . . . ") The United States Army Service Forces had access to the soldiers, and they could order the soldiers to participate. They couldn't make them tell the "truth," even if philosophers and theologists could tell us what the "truth" is. The scientific method doesn't give us "truth." It gives us a much better grasp of the extent to which our data collection can be assumed to tell us "something" about what we want to know, something that we would not have gotten just by chance.

  As we speak of facts and interpretation, we will encounter this dilemma often. Yes, personal experience does give us vital information. But we must remember that it is OUR personal information, colored by who we are, what has happened to us, and the experiences we have had.

• One-Sided and Two-Sided Arguments in Persuasion Summary of Robert K. Merton's classic research, based on what we learned from the American Soldier research of the Second World War. Namely, a one-sided argument is more readily accepted by those with less educational sophistication. (Those who did not graduate from high school.) However, for those with a better education or a more questioning and flexible forum in which to learn and practice, who have had experience in thinking issues through and making decisions for themselves based on the facts as they have access to them, a two-sided argument is more persuasive.

  Why is that? Because the group that is more responsive to two-sided arguments has learned to ask and to question on their own, and will not limit their thinking to just the one-sided argument they are given. they will question, wonder, think about it. Notice that the actual amount of formal education may very well not be the crucial factor. In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, old folks sat on the porch of the general store arguing over whether heredity or learning was more important. They didn't use the same words as academics. But their thinking was very much the same. My bet is that these old folks would have been much more convinced by a two-sided argument than a one-sided argument.

  References: The Effects of One-Sided Versus Two-Sided Messages At p. 59 of the document. Accessed by jeanne on December 18, 2009. Summarizes the effects, including what to do with groups that are predisposed to agree with or oppose the message goal.

  The Other Side of a One-Sided Argument Posted by Noah Rowland on February 20th, 2009. Accessed by jeanne on December 18, 2009. Good example of application of the concept to present-day issues. jeanne

• Mistaking "Quick and Dirty" Soundbites for Argument Accessed by jeanne on Dear Habermas on December 18, 2009. Sometimes the intent is to win your vote, not give you the facts to decide for yourself. jeanne

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