How Minds Change
The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
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4.4 • 18 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A powerful, compassionate investigation of why it’s so hard to change your mind—and the transformative effects that follow when you do—by the internationally bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart
"A riveting read on the art and science of persuasion . . . In a time when too many minds seem closed, this is a masterful analysis of what it takes to open them." —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the podcast WorkLife
PORCHLIGHT BOOK AWARD WINNER
What made a prominent conspiracy-theorist YouTuber finally see that 9/11 was not a hoax? Can you finally have a productive conversation about politics with your uncle at the next family gathering? How does an ordinary person find the courage to leave a cult? Can widespread social change only take place when a generation dies out?
Inspired by curiosity and underpinned by diligent research, How Minds Change is an expansive, big-hearted journalistic narrative for our divided times, told with David McRaney’s trademark humor, compassion, and scientific inquiry. In engaging chapters built around eye-opening interviews and anecdotes—featuring psychologists and neuroscientists, and also former cult members, conspiracy theorists, and political activists—McRaney shows why illusions like The Dress captivate (and break) the internet; how conversational techniques can crack hardened attitudes; and what miracles are possible when we show up with open minds and a better understanding of how the human brain works.
Reaching surprising and thought-provoking conclusions, How Minds Change demonstrates that the ability to uncover our own motives and beliefs—and understand those of others—may be the greatest persuasive tool of all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"What does the phrase ‘change your mind' even mean?" asks journalist McRaney (You Are Not So Smart) in this fascinating take. To investigate how people's opinions can be changed, he speaks with a former "9/11 truther" who was a "leader in the... community" before having a change of heart; interviews psychologists who suggest that when trying to persuade someone, a "message can't seem threatening to a person's group identity, or the central route will remain barricaded"; and spends time with gay rights activists who use a method called "deep canvassing," which involves sharing one's own story and "non-judgemental listening" to win people over, because "the only way they are going to change their mind," the rationale goes, "is by changing their own mind." The author's approach to persuasion calls for compassion: "When interacting with someone who is vaccine-hesitant, you'll get much further if you frame it as respectful collaboration toward a shared goal, based on mutual fears and anxieties, and demonstrate you are open to their perspective and input." McRaney makes a convincing case that "we must avoid debate and start having conversations" and backs it up with what science has to say about "replac old ignorance with new wisdom." The result is an eye-opening survey filled with heart.
