This month’s issue of Christianity Today magazine has what I think is an excellent and brief article by Christine Herman entitled “Why People Resist Being Persuaded.” Interestingly, she is a PhD chemist turned public radio journalist and freelance science writer. Christine begins this piece as follows:
“The problem with persuasion is not just that people are stubborn; people change their minds all the time about all sorts of things. The real challenge arises when someone’s beliefs are tied to their identity. If changing your belief means changing your identity, it comes at the risk of rejection from the community of people with whom you share that identity.
“Knowing this, it’s not surprising that people tend to seek out information that confirms a belief and outright reject anything that conflicts with it, says Dan Kahan, a psychology professor at Yale Law School.
“‘They might not perceive it that way consciously,’ he says. But research has shown that this phenomenon–known to psychologists as confirmation bias–is real.”
Ms. Herman continues, “Being rejected by the group around which we have formed our identity can be painful. Thus, in the face of evidence that runs contrary to our beliefs, it only makes sense that we put up our guard.
“It also explains why efforts to change someone’s mind can often majorly backfire. When confronted with information that conflicts with their views, not only do people reject the information, they also dig in their heels and emerge clinging more strongly to their original beliefs than they did before.
“Lest anyone thing they are immune, research shows this is true for both liberals and conservatives, highly educated and not. It seems that our resistance to changing our minds is human nature.
“In 2013, Kahan and his colleagues recruited more than 1,000 Americans to participate in a study. They surveyed participants about the political views and also provided them with a test to assess their math skills.”
Christine says Kahan “offers this advice for having more productive conversations with people of differing views:
- Make it your goal to understand the person, not to change their mind.
- Take genuine interest in why someone believes what they believe.
- Try starting off the conversation by sharing what you think.
- Convey that you are open to having your mind changed.”
Ms. Herman continues, “The takeway? People have a tendency to reason with data not [emphasis hers] to get the right answer, but to get the answer they prefer to be right. And people with strong math skills were the most likely to have this bias.
“The theory underlying this work–known as identity protection cognition–can be summarized this way: Peoples’ defense mechanisms kick in when they feel their identity and core values are being threatened, and it can lead them to subconsciously resist information that conflicts with their beliefs.”
Ms. Herman says the main remedy is listening. She relates, “The key is understanding what the person’s values are so that you can frame an argument around them. To accomplish this requires listening, asking questions that seek to understand, and showing empathy.” Indeed, King Solomon says in the Bible, “let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5.2). And Jesus’ brother James says, “let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1.19).
Christine cites Jonathan Dobson’s book, The Unbelievable Gospel: Say Something Worth Believing. He advises to focus on listening, which conveys love. He explains, “A big part of people feeling loved is being asked questions.” Herman concludes:
“Dodson’s view is that Christians need to repent of the desire to get people to simply agree with our doctrine before moving on to the next person. Not only does science suggest it won’t work, but Dodson says it isn’t loving. ‘The listening-focused approach is more costly, ‘he says. ‘But love is costly.'”
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