Re: [tips] Cognitive Dissonance in the News
They can also say .. this will make Hillary's victory all the sweeter == John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 == - Original Message - From: Jim Clark j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, November 7, 2014 8:58:46 AM Subject: Re: [tips] Cognitive Dissonance in the News Perhaps things look different from up here in Canada. I see a divided America rather than an overwhelming victory. Jim Sent from my iPhone On Nov 7, 2014, at 7:12 AM, Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com wrote: The elections are (thankfully) over and the republicans have scored an overwhelming victory. So suppose that over the past few months you received lots of emails from the democratic party asking you to donate to the party to help it win. And suppose you actually did donate, let’s say, more than a few times. I’m not saying that this was me, but I am a social psychologist after all so I’ll let you draw your own opinions… So what does the democratic party tell their supporters after the election in order not to lose them as future supporters? Why, you tell them that they actually did NOT lose. For example, you might email your supporters and emphasize all those places where democrats did win. You might, for example, say these sorts of things: * “.. you made a real difference in this campaign. You should take a look at what you made possible. ” * “ We registered more voters, and made more phone calls, and knocked on more doors than ever before. ” * “ We’re so glad you gave us the chance to execute that voter registration program -- it made all the difference. ” * “We defeated Rep. Terry by 4,132 votes…. Because of the work you made possible … * “ You broke every grassroots fundraising record we have -- and then some. ” To be fair, they also said, “ So we’ll just come out and say it: last night was rough. ” If I was the one writing those emails I suppose I’d use the same approach. Interesting though. Michael Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. mich...@thepsychfiles.com http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: @mbritt --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca . To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9n=Tl=tipso=39900 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-39900-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: ku...@mail.plymouth.edu . To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66454n=Tl=tipso=39901 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-39901-13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=39902 or send a blank email to leave-39902-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Cognitive Dissonance in the News
Like. On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 8:03 AM, John Kulig ku...@mail.plymouth.edu wrote: They can also say .. this will make Hillary's victory all the sweeter [image: Cool] == John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 == -- *From: *Jim Clark j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca *To: *Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu *Sent: *Friday, November 7, 2014 8:58:46 AM *Subject: *Re: [tips] Cognitive Dissonance in the News Perhaps things look different from up here in Canada. I see a divided America rather than an overwhelming victory. Jim Sent from my iPhone On Nov 7, 2014, at 7:12 AM, Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com wrote: The elections are (thankfully) over and the republicans have scored an overwhelming victory. So suppose that over the past few months you received lots of emails from the democratic party asking you to donate to the party to help it win. And suppose you actually did donate, let’s say, more than a few times. I’m not saying that this was me, but I am a social psychologist after all so I’ll let you draw your own opinions… So what does the democratic party tell their supporters after the election in order not to lose them as future supporters? Why, you tell them that they actually did NOT lose. For example, you might email your supporters and emphasize all those places where democrats did win. You might, for example, say these sorts of things: - “..you made a real difference in this campaign. You should take a look at what you made possible.” - “We registered more voters, and made more phone calls, and knocked on more doors than ever before.” - “We’re so glad you gave us the chance to execute that voter registration program -- it made all the difference.” - “We defeated Rep. Terry by 4,132 votes….Because of the work you made possible… - “You broke every grassroots fundraising record we have -- and then some.” To be fair, they also said, “So we’ll just come out and say it: last night was rough.” If I was the one writing those emails I suppose I’d use the same approach. Interesting though. Michael Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. mich...@thepsychfiles.com http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: @mbritt --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9n=Tl=tipso=39900 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-39900-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: ku...@mail.plymouth.edu. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66454n=Tl=tipso=39901 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-39901-13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: devoldercar...@gmail.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920.a45340211ac7929163a021623341n=Tl=tipso=39902 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-39902-177920.a45340211ac7929163a021623...@fsulist.frostburg.edu -- Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology St. Ambrose University 518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803 563-333-6482 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=39904 or send a blank email to leave-39904-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Cognitive Dissonance in the News
On Fri, 07 Nov 2014 06:31:41 -0800, Carol DeVolder wrote: Like. I think one lesson that voters for President Obama learned (of which I was one), be careful what you wish for. Or, life is always less sweet than we expect it to be: On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 8:03 AM, John Kulig wrote: They can also say .. this will make Hillary's victory all the sweeter [image: Cool] To which I quote from the Mike Nichols' movie Charlie Wilson's War about the tale of the Zen master: We shall see. On Friday, November 7, 2014 8:58:46 AM, Jim Clark wrote: Perhaps things look different from up here in Canada. I see a divided America rather than an overwhelming victory. To which I say: there are many ways to view what happened in this week's election including: (1) People will vote against their best interests (ideology trumps cost-benefit analysis -- the failure of teaching critical thinking is once again apparent), (2) This morning we learned that 214K new jobs were added in the U.S. in October (the ninth straight month were the increase was above 200K), one measure of unemployment dropped from 5.9% to 5.8%, average hourly pay rose about 2% relative to a 1.7% inflation rate, the labor force participation rate ticked up from 62.7% to 62.8% after two months of decline, and, in case no one has been looking at their 401(k) or stock portfolio, the Dow Jones and SP 500 are hitting new all time highs. Financially, the U.S. has been doing very well this year especially compared to the 2008 and when President Obama was first elected (when the unemployment rate was over 9% and the stock market was in the toilet). Is this an example of emotional reasoning over logical reasoning? (3) Science education in the U.S. has to improve because it is clear that many voters and the people elected to office don't have a clue. For example, see: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/06/climate-denier-jim-inhofe-in-line-for-senates-top-environmental-job Just listen to all of the politicians who say I'm no scientist but... and then express an ignorant opinion about a scientific issue. Again, is this another failure of teaching of critical thinking? (4) The U.S. may be a divided country but the real question is what are the divisions? Faith vs. Reason? Opinion vs. Facts? Plutocracy vs. Democracy? There are so many divisions it is hard to determine where to start. Perhaps one place to start is with Mississippi which wants to have a Confederate Heritage Month and acknowledge Christianity (not clear which version -- Catholics might not count) as the state's official religion; see: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/05/mississippi-confederate-heritage-petition/18553115/ On Nov 7, 2014, at 7:12 AM, Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com wrote: The elections are (thankfully) over and the republicans have scored an overwhelming victory. So suppose that over the past few months you received lots of emails from the democratic party asking you to donate to the party to help it win. And suppose you actually did donate, let's say, more than a few times. I'm not saying that this was me, but I am a social psychologist after all so I'll let you draw your own opinions. Having receiving a number of such pleas for money for a couple of candidates who lost by large margins (including one who has 20 federal charges against him and who threatened to throw a NY news reporter off the balcony in the house of representative ON LIVE TV), I just wonder what is wrong with the people who voted for the people who won? So what does the democratic party tell their supporters after the election in order not to lose them as future supporters? Why, you tell them that they actually did NOT lose. For example, you might email your supporters and emphasize all those places where democrats did win. [snip] It is called spin. Remember that old song with the lyrics you've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and avoid Mr. In-Between? I think you overstate the did NOT lose part because one would really have to be psychotic to say such a thing (or, if it appeared in an email, an adult did not review the email before it was sent). It is one thing to emphasize the glass is half full while realizing it is a urine sample. The traditional optimistic interpretation gets a bit mixed up. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=39912 or send a blank email to leave-39912-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
