DRDC TR 2011-061 the Dynamics of Identity Formation
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Investigating the Dynamics of Identity Formation, and Narrative Information Comprehension: Final Report Afzal Upal, PhD DRDC Toronto Dominic J. Packer, Ph.D. Gordon B. Moskowitz, Ph.D. Matthew B. Kugler, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Lehigh University Defence R&D Canada – Toronto Technical Report DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061 April 2011 Principal Author Original signed by Afzal Upal Afzal Upal Influence and Effects Group Leader, Socio-Cognitive Systems Section Approved by Original signed by Keith Stewart Keith Stewart Section Head, Socio-Cognitive Systems Section Approved for release by Original signed by Joseph V. Baranski Joseph V. Baranski Chair, Knowledge and Information Management Committee Chief Scientist [Include the sponsor of the work or a reference to a thrust or work unit, when deemed appropriate by author or CSA; relevant patent number(s), relating to protected intellectual property, should be noted. If there is no relevant information for this document, delete this text.] © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence, 2011 © Sa Majesté la Reine (en droit du Canada), telle que représentée par le ministre de la Défense nationale, 2011 Abstract …….. This program of research sought to address two overarching questions. First, what effect do narrative forms of discourse have on persuasion in response to messages of change? Second, how do narratives exert persuasive effects in this context, and more specifically, what type(s) of cognitive processes are involved? Over the course of a year, we conducted four pilot studies and nine full experiments designed to provide preliminary insights into these questions. There is evidence from these studies that narratives that link messages of change to a group’s past or that utilize an arcing narrative structure are sometimes effective at increasing persuasion. However, when they work (particularly to persuade strongly identified group members) narrative structures exert their persuasive power through a heuristic route, involving intuitive or low effort thought processes. Elaborative processes in which people think deeply or logically about a message of change appear to trigger reactance and counter-arguing, which have a strongly negative effect on the persuasive power of narratives. The current studies do not shed a great deal of light on what triggers elaborative vs. heuristic processing of narrative structures, and suggest that effects of narrative structures are driven by highly sensitive processes, not yet fully understood. Résumé …..... Ce programme de recherche visait à répondre à deux questions fondamentales. La première : quel effet les discours narratifs ont-ils sur la persuasion lorsque des messages de changement sont communiqués? La seconde : comment les discours narratifs en arrivent à exercer un effet persuasif dans ce contexte, et plus précisément, quel(s) type(s) de processus cognitifs emploient-ils? Pendant un an, nous avons mené quatre études pilotes et neuf expériences afin de trouver des réponses préliminaires à ces questions. Les études nous ont démontré que les discours narratifs qui relient les messages de changement au passé du groupe ou qui recourent à une structure arquée sont parfois plus persuasifs. Mais lorsqu’elles fonctionnent, particulièrement lorsqu’elles arrivent à convaincre les membres d’un groupe s’identifiant fortement à ce dernier, les structures narratives exercent leur pouvoir de persuasion en empruntant une voie heuristique, qui fait intervenir des processus de réflexion intuitifs ou qui demandent peu d’efforts. À l’inverse, les processus élaborés dans le cadre desquels il faut réfléchir en profondeur ou de manière logique à un message de changement semblent déclencher une réactance (résistance) et contrer l’argumentation, ce qui nuit considérablement au pouvoir de persuasion de la narration. Les études actuelles font peu la lumière sur ce qui déclenche les processus élaborés ou heuristiques des structures narratives, mais elles laissent entendre que les effets de ces structures sont le résultat de processus très subtils, dont on ne saisit pas encore tous les détails. DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061 i This page intentionally left blank. ii DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061 Executive summary Investigating the Dynamics of Identity Formation, and Narrative Information Comprehension: Final Report: Afzal Upal; Dominic J. Packer; Gordon B. Moskowitz; Matthew B. Kugler; DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061; Defence R&D Canada – Toronto; April 2011. Introduction or background: This program of research sought to address two overarching questions. First, what effect do narrative forms of discourse have on persuasion in response to messages of change, and more specifically, does embedding a change message within a narrative (vs. non-narrative) structure increase its persuasive potential? Second, how do narratives exert persuasive effects in this context, and more specifically, what type(s) of cognitive processes are involved? Over the course of a year, we conducted four pilot studies and nine full experiments designed to provide preliminary insights into these questions. These studies were designed and implemented by the Group Processes and Social Cognition Laboratories in the Department of Psychology at Lehigh University. Our experiments were conducted with samples recruited online, as well as from the Lehigh University student community, and collectively involved over 1,800 participants. Results: Each of the reported studies was designed to test a specific hypothesis or set of hypotheses, and these predictions and the findings for each experiment are reviewed in detail in this report. In some cases, our initial predictions were confirmed; in others, they were not, and other (often interesting) patterns emerged. Looking across studies, we believe that there is an overall pattern of findings that we can assert with some degree of certainty from this line of research at this early point in time. A one-year empirical project is necessarily limited in terms of the scope of the conclusions that can be drawn. Nevertheless, we believe that there are six key findings that emerge from these experiments: 1. Collective identification with a social group predicts greater resistance to messages advocating collective change. 2. Self-interest in the status quo also predicts greater resistance to messages advocating collective change. 3. When they work (particularly to persuade strongly identified group members) narrative structures exert their persuasive power through a heuristic route, involving intuitive or low effort thought processes. Elaborative processes in which people think deeply or logically about a message of change appear to trigger reactance and counter-arguing, which have a strongly negative effect on the persuasive power of narratives. 4. There is evidence from these studies that narratives that link messages of change to a group’s past or that utilize an arcing narrative structure are sometimes effective at increasing persuasion. However, the current studies do not shed a great deal of light on what triggers elaborative vs. heuristic processing of narrative structures, and thus on what additional variables DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061 iii render them persuasive or not in specific situations. These findings suggest that effects of narrative structures are driven by highly sensitive processes, not yet fully understood. 5. Simply trying to flatter strongly identified group members does not increase the persuasive power of a change message. 6. While it might be helpful for a neutral or liked outgroup to draw an analogy between the ingroup’s situation and the outgroup’s experiences, this is likely to backfire when there is a history of conflict or animosity between the groups. Significance: Stepping back, these findings are not inconsistent with what might be expected with regard to narrative forms of discourse. Narrative structures (stories) are a fundamentally different form of communication than logical argumentation (e.g., Bruner, 1986). When motivated, people are able to engage in careful weighting of evidence and are able to reach conclusions that are accurate or that are consistent with what they are motivated to believe. Narrative structures appear to be easily refuted when this is what people are doing, particularly among group members who oppose change. Narrative structures may typify a less reflective, more intuitive form of communication, and as such, persuade people when they are processed more heuristically. Future plans: Understanding what triggers heuristic processing of narrative messages continues to be an important research question, and further research is needed to identify as yet unknown variables that moderate the persuasive power of narrative structures in the context of social change. iv DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061 Sommaire ..... Investigating the Dynamics of Identity Formation, and Narrative Information Comprehension: Final Report: Afzal Upal; Dominic J. Packer; Gordon B. Moskowitz; Matthew B. Kugler; DRDC Toronto TR 2011-061; R & D pour la défense Canada – Toronto; Avril 2011. Introduction ou contexte: Ce programme de recherche visait à répondre à deux questions fondamentales. La première : quel effet les discours narratifs ont-ils sur la persuasion lorsque des messages de changement sont communiqués et plus parallèlement, est-ce que le fait d’intégrer un message de changement dans un discours narratif (par rapport à un discours qui ne l’est pas) augmente son potentiel de persuasion? La seconde question était