On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:32:13 -0700, Michael Smith wrote: >Presumably this wasn't in a peer reviewed journal, otherwise how >did they get funding?
In response to Sue Frantz who wrote on Sat, 10/11/08: >Why It's Hard to Change People's Minds > >"A new study shows that after being exposed to information >contradicting their ideas, most people still cling to their prejudices." > >http://www.alternet.org/story/101973/why_it%27s_hard_to_change_people%27s_minds/ > > >How many years have we been covering this in Intro Psych? A few points: (1) The Alternet article is based on a Washington Post column by Shankar Vedantam which was basically a discussion he had with one of the authors, Jason Reifler. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/09/14/DI2008091401308.html or http://tinyurl.com/6pcs82 (2) According to a press release by Duke University the research has not yet been published. Quoting the press release: |Nyhan and co-author Jason Reifler of Georgia State University |expect to publish the paper next year after it completes professional |review. The Washington Post reported on their research Monday. See: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2008/09/nyhan.html It must be pretty damn good research if it's being released to the popular media before going through peer review. 1/2 :-) (3) The Alternet use of Mark Twain as the source for the quote "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so" is in error, as shown in the TiPS thread of August 2008 "Why Psychology is Hard". The actual source is Josh Billings who wrote under the pen name Henry Wheeler Shaw. (4) I admit that it has been a while since I've taught Intro Psych so I'm a little confused about the reference to "how people cling to their prejudices" being taught in intro psych. Is one referring to research such as that by Sweeney & Gruber (1984), the "sleeper effect", or something else? Sweeney, P. D., & Gruber, K. L. (1984). Selective exposure: Voter information preferences and the watergate affair. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(6), 1208-1221. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.46.6.1208 -Mike Palij New York University [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
