Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.5 Cognitive Shortcuts
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0:11 - 0:16The study of cognitive biases tells us that we
process information subjectively. -
0:16 - 0:20Sometimes to the extent that our perceptions
get distorted, -
0:20 - 0:25clouding ‘simple and objective’ facts like the
amount of violations in a football match. -
0:25 - 0:31Having cognitive biases is in many cases a very
effective and healthy phenomenon -
0:31 - 0:36because people simple can not handle balanced
processing of all input. -
0:36 - 0:40Can you imagine being conscious all the time of
all your senses? -
0:40 - 0:44You’ll probably be overwhelmed in seconds!
-
0:44 - 0:47Therefore it’s great that our mind is able to
subconsciously make -
0:47 - 0:50all of these processing decisions.
-
0:50 - 0:53Although we may be inclined to see biases as
limitations, -
0:53 - 0:59we could also view them as cognitive shortcuts
since they speed up information processing. -
1:00 - 1:06Perhaps the best known theory about cognitive
biases is the theory of cognitive dissonance. -
1:06 - 1:11Cognitive Dissonance is a theory from
psychology that explains how people handle -
1:11 - 1:18conflicting feelings, ideas or beliefs. I’ll explain
with an example. -
1:18 - 1:24Roger feels he is a well-read intellectual. His
friends start talking about the classic book -
1:24 - 1:29War and Peace. Everyone has read it except
Roger. -
1:29 - 1:34The belief that he is a well-read intellectual
clashes with the fact that he is the only one -
1:34 - 1:36amongst his friends who hasn’t read this
classic. -
1:36 - 1:42The theory predicts that Roger will try to avoid
the discomfort of this cognitive dissonance. -
1:42 - 1:45He can do this in three ways.
-
1:46 - 1:511) By making one of the discordant factors less
important, -
1:51 - 1:582) By adding new elements to his beliefs that
make the picture fit, -
1:58 - 2:00or, in other words, create consonance,
-
2:00 - 2:063) And finally by changing one clashing factors.
-
2:06 - 2:14So, to avoid cognitive dissonance Roger could
say: Well, who cares if I’m well read. -
2:14 - 2:23It’s not that important! Or: Not having read one
classic hardly makes me illiterate! -
2:23 - 2:29Or, he could create consonance by adding new
elements to his beliefs. -
2:29 - 2:32For instance by thinking that, being an
intellectual, -
2:32 - 2:35he obviously hangs out with other well-read
intellectuals. -
2:35 - 2:40It’s therefore not surprising that his friends have
read the classic. -
2:40 - 2:45Finally he could change his view: either by
thinking -
2:45 - 2:49'Apparently I’m not that well-read' or thinking
-
2:49 - 2:55'War and Peace is actually greatly
overestimated as a work of literature'. -
2:55 - 2:58The theory explains how people balance their
beliefs with reality. -
2:58 - 3:03Sometimes this can lead to enormous opinion
changes. -
3:03 - 3:09The classic example of this is the fable of the
Fox and the Grapes by Aesop. -
3:09 - 3:15In the English translation: “Driven by hunger, a
fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on -
3:15 - 3:23the vine but was unable to, although he leaped
with all his strength. As he went away, -
3:23 - 3:29the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I
don't need any sour grapes.'” -
3:29 - 3:32Aesop sums up the moral of the story.
-
3:32 - 3:38“People who speak disparagingly of things that
they cannot attain would do well to apply -
3:38 - 3:42this story to themselves”. The fox had clearly
reduced cognitive dissonance -
3:42 - 3:46by changing his beliefs, which was the third
option, -
3:46 - 3:51and deciding that the grapes he had craved
before were actually sour. -
3:51 - 3:56On a side note, this is also the origin of the
expression ‘sour grapes’.
- Title:
- Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.5 Cognitive Shortcuts
- Description:
-
Download links
1. not in the Coursera site:
Transcript of all Week 4 videos: https://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/commscience/transcripts%2FTranscript_Week_4_Coursera.pdf
This lecture in .webm: http://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/commscience/recoded_videos%2F4.5.31df1279504616cc1943b52d05b3976c.webm
2. In the Coursera site, but apparently unaffected by the login block, for this lecture:
Subtitle text: https://class.coursera.org/commscience-001/lecture/subtitles?q=65_en&format=txt
Video mp4: https://class.coursera.org/commscience-001/lecture/download.mp4?lecture_id=65
*****Week 4 description:
The reception and signification perspective
This week we'll cover some basic theories on message construction and (selective) processing. We will see that scholars are working towards theoretical models that give audiences a more active role in communication processes. - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Captions Requested
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.5 Cognitive Shortcuts | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.5 Cognitive Shortcuts |