Facts don't matter if people aren't tuned in.

Many of us have been wondering how people can continue to believe the fake news that is flowing freely out there these days even when presented with facts to the contrary. 

We've already discussed the primacy theory, which says that people tend to believe the first thing that they hear.  And selective perception which allows them to filter out conflicting information in order to avoid cognitive dissonance.  That's the uncomfortable feeling that you get when something contradicts what you believe to be true.  Here's a blog about those concepts...

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-you-want-people-to-believe-you-you.html

Then there is the disturbing finding that if we hear a lie often enough we think it is true.  This happens because we mistake familiarity for truth.  That's when you say - "I think I've heard that before..."  Here's a blog about that...

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-you-tell-lie-often-enough-people.html

But there's another piece of the puzzle that we haven't discussed yet.  And that's the role that involvement, or lack thereof plays in the equation. 

Research tells us that when people are involved in an issue then they are responsive to strong central arguments.  But when they are not involved they tend to rely on credibility and context. 

Think about that a moment.  After multiple years of hearing that reliable news sources are in fact sharing fake news, a lie they now believe, people no longer listen to the facts no matter how well supported they are, but instead discount them based on the perceived lack of credibility of the source. (Haugtvedt, Petty, Cacioppo, 1992)

This takes us back to the finding that all decisions are emotional.  And makes a strong case for abandoning facts altogether when trying to persuade someone to change their mind.

Haugtvedt, C., Petty, R., Cacioppo, J. (1992)  Need for Cognition and Advertising: Understanding the Role of Personality Variables in Consumer Behavior.  Journal of Consumer Psychology.  Retrieved July 25, 2018, from

https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/39532519/Need_For_Cognition_and_Advertising_Under20151029-18831-1k2i7ox.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1532525675&Signature=odBCuZ4ygT51%2BVoHfNt6U50u5W8%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DNeed_for_Cognition_and_Advertising_Under.pdf

"Hotel Transylvania 3" was number one this weekend - should they thank Food Network Star?

This past weekend Hotel Transylvania 3 was number one at the box office, earning $44.1million, and beating the Rock's newest release - Skyscraper.  (Chow, 2018)

I couldn't help wondering if the movie's stellar performance was due in part to a rather unusual product placement which I happened to stumble on last week.  If you are a fan of Food Network Star you probably saw it too.

Contestants were asked to create dishes inspired by characters from the movie.  (Struble,  2018)

Seemed like a bit of a stretch to me, but why not?  Research shows that 58% of Food Network viewers are female, 54% are between the ages of 18-49, and 47% have at least one child.  (Gaille, 2016)

Sounds like a pretty good prospect for Hotel Transylvania 3. 

And the placement wasn't nearly as awkward as Colonel Sander's visit to General Hospital.  In case you missed that one, he asked Maxie to hide the secret KFC recipe for him. (Bartiromo, 2018)

This world just gets weirder by the minute.

Chow, A. (2018, July 15)  'Hotel Transylvania 3' Towers Over 'Skyscraper' at Box Office.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved July 17, 2018, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/movies/hotel-transylvania-3-skyscraper-box-office.html

Struble, C. (2017, July 7)  Food Network Star Season 14 episode 5 live stream: Watch online. foodsided.com  Retrieved July 17, 2018, from  https://foodsided.com/2018/07/08/food-network-star-season-14-episode-5-live-stream-watch-online/

Gaillle, B. (2016, March 7)  40 Captivating Food Network Demographics.  brandongaille.com.  Retrieved July 17, 2016, from  https://brandongaille.com/40-captivating-food-network-demographics/

Bartiromo, M. (2018, July 6)  'Colonel Sanders' appearing on 'General Hospital' in honor of National Fried Chicken Day.  foxnews.com.  Retrieved July 17, 2018, from  http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/07/06/colonel-sanders-appearing-on-general-hospital-in-honor-national-fried-chicken-day.html

Does your company need a "Bring Mom To Work" Day? Probably.

Joe Gebbia from Airbnb weighed in on a Wall Street Journal soapbox about making mistakes, by telling a story about how he and his fellow internet savvy 20-somethings at Airbnb failed to think about things like font size and language choices when developing their site.  Then they realized that their fastest growing group of hosts is seniors, followed by 50-somethings.  Oops. 

So what did they do?  They held a "Bring Your Mother To Work" Day and asked their mom's to use the site while they observed them.  I am sure that it was an eye opening and productive exercise. (2016)

Maybe it's just me, or the fact that I have been buying lots of stuff online lately, but I am shocked to discover how many dysfunctional websites there are out there; particularly if one tries not to use Amazon.

Here's a short recap of some of the problems that I have encountered in the past few weeks...

1. Entering my address and being told that it was incorrect because I either abbreviated NY or didn't. (Ikea)

2. Being unable to redeem miles because the name on my airline credit card does not match my legal name. (American Airlines)

3. Not being able to include my apartment number in my address because the company hadn't delivered to that address before. (Lego)

4. Couldn't order a comforter and have it sent directly to someone else as a gift. (JC Penney)

Really? 

So here's a suggestion.  Have a "Bring Your Mom To Work Day" to fix your website problems before they put you out of business.

Trump is creating fear because bad is stronger than good

In a previous blog I discussed how creating fear was more effective than telling the truth when trying  to persuade anti-vaxxers to immunize their children. 

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/how-do-you-change-perception-fear.html

The principle is called "bad is stronger than good." A seminal study on the subject found that bad emotions have more impact than good ones.  Bad impressions are quicker to form and more resistant to change.  And bad events have stronger and more lasting consequences. (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer and Vos, 2001)

Is it any wonder that we fear them? 

We also remember them better, as our strongest memories are of negative emotional events, which we relive in our minds (and dreams) so we won't repeat our mistakes.

Perhaps the most interesting part is that what we fear need not be rooted in reality.  Tell a lie often enough and people will think it's true.  More about that here.

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-you-tell-lie-often-enough-people.html

And that's how we got where we are today.

Baumeister, R., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer C., and Vos, K. (2001, April 16)  Bad Is Stronger Than Good.  Review of General Psychology.  Retrieved July 4, 2018, from

http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/handle/1871/17432/Baumeister_Review%20of%20General%20Psychology_5(4)_2001_u.pdf?sequence=2