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California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Created: October 13, 2004
Latest Update: October 13, 2004
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Basic Bits of Classic TheoryOne-sided vs. two-sided arguments. Origin, the American Soldier, written from research conducted during the Second World War, when GIs became a ready sample for social theory experiments. The importance of the armed services connection is that if soldiers were ordered to do a survey or attend a lecture, those were orders, and they had to comply. There are few sources of such an ability to control a population for study.Robert K. Merton was one of those who worked with the group that produced the American Soldier, which, in many ways served to coalesce the disicipline of sociology. The one-sided, two-sided argument arose in the European theatre of operations when vistory was declared in Europe. It had been a terrible and very long war. People were just discovering the atrocities associated with the concentration camps. There were no six month rotations; just steady fighting. For many soldiers victory meant they were finally free to go home to their families and begin to heal.
But there was still a terrible war being waged in the Pacific theatre, and we needed to put the soldiers from the European theatre on troop ships to the battles in the Pacific. Social scientists of the time could imagine that it might make a difference in how we broke that news to the soldiers themselves. Should we use a one-sided argument with iconographic imagery and appeals to patriotism, or should we engage in deeper analysis of reasons for and reasons against transport to the Pacific Theatre?
The incredible access to the soldiers meant that social scientists could call one auditorium full of soldiers and use a one-sided argument. Possibly photographs of the horror of the war still raging in the Pacific Theatre, appeals to not leave their comrades behind in such danger, patriotism like the planting of the flag by the U.S. marines. These are all direct, visual, oral appeals that make what are called today good "sound bites."
The scientists could then call in another auditorium full of soldiers and use a two-sided argument, one that goes more deeply into the logical conflict that has no single "right" answer. We were asking these soldiers to risk their lives yet again. But we were also fighting a force that was taking good advantage of our having to fight so far from home and allies. We could look at strategy and long-term effects.
As the scientists compared the results of using the one-sided and the two-sided arguments, they discovered that the one-sided argument was more effective in persuading the soldier with less that high school graduation. The two-sided argument was more effective in persuading the soldier who had at least completed high school.
Sorry, but adding the Yahoo group in Spanish took time. I'll get these notes up tonight. jeanne
