Are you skeptical regarding change?

by Richard L. Weaver II

Neuroscientists did a study of people being monitored by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while they were trying to process dissonant or consonant information. Although it was about George W. Bush and John Kerry, it could just as easily have been about John McCain and Barack Obama. Here is what the neuroscientists discovered, according to Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, in their book, Mistakes Were Made, “the reasoning areas of the brain virtually shut down when participants were confronted with dissonant information, and the emotion circuits of the brain lit up happily when consonance was restored.”*

The conclusion from this study, arrived at by Tavris and Aronson, is, “These mechanisms provide a neurological bais for the observation that once our minds are made up, it is hard to change them.”**

Tavris and Aronson continue as they extend their conclusion, “Indeed, even reading information that goes against your point of view can make you all the more convinced you are right.” If this information were not so important, I would choose to paraphrase it or condense it, but Tavris and Aronson are making an incredible statement here:

“In one experiment, researchers selected people who either favored or opposed capital punishment and asked them to read two scholarly, well-documented articles on the emotionally charged issue of whether the death penalty deters violent crimes. One article concluded that it did; the other that it didn’t. If the readers were processing information rationally, they would at least realize that the issue is more complex than they had previously believed and would therefor move a bit closer to each other in their beliefs about capital punishment as a deterrence. But dissonance theory predicts that the readers would find a way to distort the two articles. They would find reasons to clasp the confirming article to their bosoms, hailing it as a highly competent piece of work. And they would be supercritical of the disconfirming article, finding minor flaws and magnifying them into major reasons why they need not be influenced by it. This is precisely what happened. Not only did each side discredit the other’s arguments; each side became even more committed to its own.”***

If you read the above information closely, the answer to the opening question is clear, “Are you skeptical regarding change?” The answer is, You should be! Once you make a decision, you have all kinds of tools at your disposal to bolster it” (Tavris and Aronson, p. 21).

I am writing this essay during the final two weeks of the presidential campaign of 2008, and there is no question that the campaign has taken on a negative, even hostile, quality. Barack Obama is ahead in the polls, a democratic landslide is being forecast by some observers, and the McCain forces are turning to character assassination, instead of differences in policy on major issues, to try to swing voters their way in these final days. It is clear from the research conducted by the neuroscientists cited in the opening paragraph of this essay, that very few (if any) voters are likely to be swayed by this desperation advertising whether by the candidates, direct mailers, or the all-too-frequent, negative robo-calls. (We live in Ohio, one of the “must-win” states, thus, the advertising blitz has been intense/insane.)

This is not a political essay. My intention is to show how difficult it is to change. Imbued with a belief, a value system, or an attitude is likely to be “all there is to it.” But, look at the many areas affected by this desire to remain in consonance with ones beliefs, values, and attitudes.

First, and foremost, it affects persuasion and persuaders. What is the likelihood that one persuader (in a single speech) can influence his or her listeners? From the research cited in this essay, it suggests the job is nearly impossible. How many of your listeners (if you were the persuader) could be considered “swing voters” (those who haven’t made up their mind before your speech) on your topic? Those are likely to be the ones who have a slight chance of being persuaded — maybe. But, remember it is a single speech only not a campaign blitz.

Second, it affects those making New Year’s Resolutions. Of course it does. All those who are trying to change their behavior with a resolution that is supposed to create that change beginning January first, are in for a big surprise. Well, no surprise at all. The research has clearly indicated that such resolutions do not work. The research above would certainly lend further support to that conclusion.

Third, it would affect teachers (of mature adults, and by that I don’t mean senior citizens alone) of students. When people get to be the age of college students and older, it would seem that it becomes less and less likely that teachers — those who are expecting changes in attitudes or behaviors on the part of their students — can make major inroads into the actions and behaviors students bring to them.

One of the reasons this conclusion deeply affects me is simply that in my teaching of speech courses (e.g., interpersonal or public communication), a certain degree of change is taught and expected. A simple guess might be that the changes detected and rewarded (with grades) are likely to be short-lived. It makes sense. Students know how to play the “game of change” when the reward is an improved grade!

Fourth, expectations for change have been the basis of the “And Then Some” philosophy and approach. If you read about my hopes and desires with the publication of the And Then Some Publishing L.L.C. series of books, you will clearly detect the goal of growth, development, and change in readers. Can it be that such hopes and desires are pipe dreams? Impossible to expect; impossible to imagine?

If you read the research, of course that is true. And the skeptics certainly have a point. Change is nearly impossible. But there are a number of caveats that make my writing worthwhile and rewarding. First, when people are truly open and flexible, change becomes more likely. Second, often those who are already prone to believing in or acting according to the ideas being written about, are those who enjoy reading ideas that buttress and support their ideas. They want reinforcement. Third, an intelligent audience reads and accepts ideas they favor just as easily as they read and reject ideas they do not. Intelligent readers enjoy the diversity and the alternatives they are given. A variety of different viewpoints is a challenge to the intelligent reader.

Change may be tough, but it is not completely impossible. It may be simply that we need more independent and swing voters! —intelligent independent and swing voters!


Footnotes:
*Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson (2007). Mistakes were made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc. (A Harvest Book). P. 19.
**The citation on the study: Drew Westen, Clint Kilts, Pavel Blagov, et al. (2006), “The Neural Basis of Motivated Reasoning: An fMRI Study of Emotional Constraints on Political Judgment During the U.S. Presidential Election of 2004,” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, pp. 1947-1958.
***The citation for this research finding is: Charles Lord, Lee Ross, and Mark Lepper (1979), “Biased Assimilation and Attitude Polarization: The Effects of Prior Theories on Subsequently Considered Evidence,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, pp. 2098-2109.

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At Lifehacker, there is an excellent essay by Gina Trapani entitled, “Why you should risk dweebhood with written goals?” After writing about what goals mean, Trapani offers five reasons why written goals work. Hers is an excellent answer to the skeptics about the real possibility of effecting changes in your life.

At Schulersolutions.com, A. J. Schuler has written a superb essay, “Overcoming Resistance to Change: Top Ten Reasons for Change Resistance,” that supports the essay I have written above by discussing ten reasons why people resist changing. The essay is interesting and informative.

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