Most individuals may be confident in certain beliefs that are proven to be false. This occurrence may be complicated to resolve, since backfire effects are proven to reinforce one’s prior attitudes about misinformation. In fact, individuals may subconsciously seek confirmation about their ideas and refuse to accept contradictory opinions. This is known as confirmation bias; when someone searches for information to support their original judgement. An effect of confirmation bias is belief polarization which intensifies someone’s attitudes and strengthens their disagreements with opposing views. Even an individual’s worldviews are impacted by this phenomenon. For example, “there is no evidence of climate change” is a common misconception reaffirmed by people when they are introduced to evidence that is inconsistent with their beliefs. Debiasing, or reducing an individual’s fallacy, can be achieved through some techniques. A person’s ideas may be reinforced if new information threatens their current worldviews, since most people do not want to accept their faults. In terms of climate change, one may argue for its nonexistence by stating the planet has naturally …show more content…
By simplifying the amount of facts that prove the myth wrong, the outcome will be more effective when convincing someone that their belief is false. Rather than overwhelming someone with an abundance of facts as proof of climate change, simplify the argument so the complex ideas feel less confusing. For instance, simply state that carbon dioxide and other human formed emissions released into the atmosphere increases Earth’s temperature. This will minimize confusion and the odds of the myth persisting. Additionally, the individual will usually becomes skeptical of the original misinformation source, which is now
Many people’s opinions are influenced by political leaders and their beliefs, which can have a negative effect on science’s efforts. Mere word changes have shown to make a difference in people’s willingness to pay for taxes that they don’t necessarily support or are even aware of. The use of storytelling has shown to be a powerful means in communicating science to the public as well. Although education and science understanding are not directly correlated with the acceptance of climate science, there is evidence that shows that a brief explanation of greenhouse effects “enhance acceptance across the political spectrum”. Researching source credibility has also boosted the political acceptance of certain scientific information.
Giving a successful speech, in any language, is a difficult yet gratifying skill. Great speeches can be inspiring, compelling, and even revolutionary – indeed, these speeches are deliberate, succinct, engaging, and unforgettable. Two examples of such great speeches in both literature and in history are Mark Antony’s eulogy in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Robert F. Kennedy’s On the Death of Martin Luther King. Through the speakers’ use of parallel structure, caesuras, and personal references – three stylistic devices and techniques – not only were both speakers able to embellish their speeches; it also allowed each speaker to deliver an even more powerful speech. In these speeches, the use of repetition through the anaphoral and epiphoral structure in both speeches accentuates the purpose of the speech, while the use of caesuras adds texture and tone to the speech, and the use of personal references engages and stimulates the audience.
The desire for consistency can go beyond rational thought or force a person to rationalize when things are out of line. People find comfort in knowing what to expect. When what is known and believed is challenged, people are disrupted and forced to make a decision on how to process conflicting information. To avoid the discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance, people may ignore opposing views, examine and change their views to maintain consistency with their actions or even seek reassurance (Defining Communication Theories, 2001).
John Hopkins University, January 16, 1998. http://www.cato.org/speeches/sp-jt011698.html. Boyachek, Karen. A. “Argument Against the Global Warming Theory” U of Saskatchewan. Newsletter 26 Jan. 20 http://www.cs.usak.ca/undergrads/kmbl129/49/assignment.
This video successfully uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos to support its claims on climate change. The way National Geographic uses ethos, or credibility, for this video is strong and thought out. The main speaker is none other than Bill Nye, who most students grew up watching in elementary school; to learn different aspects of science; and is a very respectable and credible speaker for this topic, of climate change. Nye graduated from Cornell University with a degree in mechanical engineering, then moved to Seattle, Washington to work as an engineer for Boeing and ultimately became a science educator, winning educational awards for his famous program, “Bill Nye the Science Guy”(Biography.com). Nye has extremely credible credentials to be able to speak about this topic of science, who speaks in a serious, concerned and informative manner to grab the attention of the viewer and explain that climate change is a serious affair that needs to be acted upon.
Although Al Gore has proven to be both a capable politician and philanthropist, he has no credibility in regards to the scientific field he seems so concerned to inform the public about. Interestingly enough, some of the mistakes our esteemed presenter made were crucial details that weaken the anthropogenic global warming argument. In the film, Gore mistakenly asserts “that in each of the last four interglacial warm periods, changes in carbon dioxide concentration caused changes in temperature” (35 Inconvenient Truths: The Errors in Al Gore's Movie) . In reality it’s the opposite, because temperature is the factor that affects carbon dioxide levels. “Carbon dioxide,” Gore asserted, “is pollution.” That statement not only proves to be misleading, but also ignorant. Carbon dioxide is a food source for plants and a source of natural nutrition. Plants take in this carbon dioxide and in turn release oxygen, a component that all living species, including humans, breathe. In fact, “well-managed forests, such as those of the United States, are growing at record rates [due to] the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [, which] is feeding the trees” (35 Inconvenient Truths: The Errors in Al Gore's Movie). If one were to look at the concentration of carbon dioxide throughout the span of Geological Time, one would notice that carbon dioxide levels were significantly higher than present levels. Notably, the University of California estimates carbon dioxide levels to be approximately twenty times greater in concentration than present levels. This further strengthens the idea that carbon dioxide levels have existed at higher rates than before, so there is nothing “unnatural” or “man-made” in regards to carbon dioxide levels rising to higher l...
Imagine a person who is an avid animal lover and activist but also owns and wears a real fur jacket. These two beliefs and actions are inconsistent with each other and cause a distressing contradiction known as cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state caused by an inconsistency between a person’s two beliefs or a belief and an action (Griffin 2006). People have an instinctual desire to keep their actions and beliefs in harmony and when they are experiencing inconsistencies they deal with it by trying to reduce it. Cognitive dissonance theory has been around since the late 1950s when it was published by Leon Festinger and has made a big impact on the educational community. This theory has been researched extensively over the last 50 years and there are many important and interesting research findings that have been produced. This is an important theory that is very relevant and can be useful in the practice of persuasion and can also help to explain people’s behaviors.
While people deal with everyday life, a plethora of events is occurring throughout the day. Most people usually do a multitude of actions to resolve these events without thinking as well. This can be anything from trying to get to class as soon as possible, talking to someone that recently was introduced, or doing a kind of tradition at a football game. Cognitive Biases is defined as a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, whereby inferences about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion. This article will talk about a small sample of these situations and clarify what the meaning behind them. It shall discuss Negativity Bias, Confirmation Bias, Gamblers Fallacy, and Illusion of Control
Ever since the advent of weather observation and prediction technology in the past 150 years, science has created a consensus that the earth is getting warmer, and that human influence is to blame. Some even blame this change, known as global warming, for bouts of extreme weather including cyclonic storms, droughts, wildfires, and heat waves. These scientists (and much of the public) believe that our influence is the problem, as our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, the product of the usage of our fuels, are polluting the atmosphere and trapping energy from the sun within. However, a minority group, scientists and public skeptics alike, believe this warming trend is merely a coincidence with the earth’s naturally cyclical climate, and that the activists are overstating something they know little about. Many even agree that if the prospect of our influence were to be true, the effects are not at all that bad, unlike what it is hyped to be. Thus, global warming has become a debatable theory. Much like legislation that prevents schools from teaching evolution as anything more than a theory, now there are also laws that mandate that global warming be considered debatable, and to argue both sides of it (Jonas).
The theory of Cognitive Dissonance states that when individuals are presented with information that implies we act in a way that contradicts our moral standards, we experience discomfort (Aronson, Wilson, and Akert, 1998, P. 191). This is considered Cognitive Dissonance,
On the other side of the argument we have the global warming sceptics, the anti-climate change activists and the remainder of the population, which believes in the “Global warming is fake propaganda”. The media have targeted these people using the same techniques as stated above to brainwash the gullible into believing that global warming doesn’t exist.
Climate change is considered a controversial topic. Although scientists have been studying the issue, there are many citizens that are still not fully educated about it. Therefore, there are people who support scientists in their results, and there are people who deny the scientists’ findings as propaganda or exaggerations. This is the same issue even in politics, where the two main parties, Democrats and Republicans, have opposing perspectives on climate change. One can really tell just by looking at their approach to the issue, especially their tone and diction. The republican candidates doubts climate change, and when the topic is brought up during an interview, the republicans flatly deny it with no further discussion. They do give some
OOne of the most significant concerns of diagnosing a patient is whether or not the diagnosis is valid or reliable. The validity of a diagnosis is whether a patient is given an accurate diagnosis. Reliability is whether patients with the same symptoms would constantly get the same diagnosis from various psychiatrists. However, there are many factors that affect the validity and reliability of diagnoses. These factors include confirmation bias and cultural bias.
Many people dedicate their lives to spread the message about climate change being real. Even though some change in the climate is natural, many events that have happened cannot be explained away by nature. Climate change is causing damage to the world that is completely irreversible. Nasa says, “Most scientists say it 's very likely that most of the warming since the mid-1900s is due to the burning of coal, oil and gas. Burning these fuels is how we produce most of the energy that we use every day” (nasa). The energy that we use daily makes our life easier, but it hurts the earth. Why does the government still allow us to use these things? Science has shown us that sea levels are rising in many parts of the world. Warm weather is causing glaciers to melt which results in the sea level rising. Earth 's average temperature has been rising for the last century in a half; and there has also been a steady rise in ocean temperature since 1969. It is said that climate control is man made and it is dangerous. On the other side of the argument, many people do not believe that climate change is real. They argue that their has not been a big temperature change in almost two decades. They also bring up the point of there not being enough data in the climate history to draw the conclusion of what is happening in the climate now is abnormal. Scientist started to record climate change around the 1800’s which many people believe is not enough data to do a comparison. Another reason some believe that climate change is not real is because of some instances where a scientist predicts a date of a significant climate change never happens. Rinkesh writes, “ For example:- Al Gore predicted that all Arctic ice would be gone by 2013. But, on contrary Arctic ice is up by 50% since 2012” (conserve-energy-future). Many people find that these reasons are why climate change is not
There are still some believers that support that climate change is not real and that they are just made up facts so people can grab the opportunity to make money with new products that will help the world to become “cleaner.” Their arguments are that the earth always had these types of climate changes just like a natural cycle. When asked about if there is any link on how in the past decades, when humans started using fossil fuels and the changes became worst and worst, they come with a response that it is just a