Fascinated by Cognition shift.
I feel like I've been involved in cognition-shifting efforts my entire life.
Proselytizing/Evangelizing, AKA converting people into one's religious community, is (at the core) an attempt to shift someone's cognition to align to one's own.
Debating in high school/ undergrad while learning to build arguments that support my views and trying to "Win" arguments (Winning rarely changes minds by the way).
Cognitions are bound by emotions, deep in the limbic system, one of our more primitive areas in the brain. We feel our way through arguments and use reason to rationalize/support our judgments. People are Rationalizing not Rational (loosely; Haidt 2012).
Two people debating and arguing.
Entering into the world of User Experience and Customer Experience with the goal of convincing customers to shift their cognition (influence people) toward purchasing products and services from one's organization. The biggest A-ha moment for me was summarized by Don Norman's Human Factors International: "Just because a person CAN purchase a product, doesn't mean they WILL purchase said product." Giving rise to an increased attention on PET design (Persuasion, Emotion & Trust - Human Factors International).
I developed successful strategies to shift people's cognitions. In proselytizing, people who are desperate for connection and safety are the easiest to persuade and convince to join the fold. Making other's feel welcomed and feel like they're part of something exclusive with rigid rules offers a good chance of conversion. In Debating and winning arguments looking the part is half the battle; wear blue, wear a tie, people associate blue with trust. Conjur up an association with "trust," this can be a doctor, or whoever a particular audience considers to be trustworthy. Think about presidential debates and how appearance influences trust.
User Experience and PET design will increase revenue by 30% every time if researched and executed well. Understand a person's barriers to purchase, the gut-feelings preventing purchase, and address those concerns up front. Use friendly images of people, use a trusted celebrity to build trust, use a healthy mix of user reviews to help with extra social validation, and don't forget to nudge the user toward purchase and upsell near the end whenever safe. Test and repeat. I'm also thinking about Cialdini's 7 principles of persuasion.
Some cognitions are stubborn to change.
What happens when we've tried everything, every technique, every principle, and still, there is no change? even when a person "wants to change?" I see this in my own self. I wish I could do something, but there is something preventing me from doing so. While I want to do X, I cannot will myself to do X. While I want to stand on a rooftop at its edge, I cannot get myself to carry out to do so. Motivation is fleeting. We are driven by our emotions.
While I felt successful shifting cognitions and seeing users do exactly what I wanted them to do, I am stumped in my desire to shift some of my own cognitions. For example, I wish I could change my own self-view.
Despite reading self-help books and doing my best to "fit in" everywhere, I still feel alone and rejected, unlovable, scared, a misfit at times.
Cognitions are sheathed in emotional bonds.
Understanding cognitions
Cognitions are thoughts, beliefs, feelings about the world, how we perceive the objects in it, and how we perceive the dynamics of the world. Our cognitions are our expectations of what we will/are experiencing; and these expectations are constructed by our experiences. Our constructs change our constructs are fluid.
The best theory we have about understanding cognitions comes from the world of behavioral economics and social psychology, via George Kelly's proposal of Personal Construct Theory in 1955. Our cognitions are based on our experiences and supported by our environment.
This makes me think of the term "small minded," which can be an accurate depiction of someone with a smaller set of categorical experiences. Someone who is sheltered and without access to diverse experiences will form constructs that are less complex as opposed to someone who has been exposed to a wider range of categorical experiences.
The ultimate goal of cognition shift is behavioral change
John Turner (1994) said "All cognitions are social cognitions." We are social creatures. It's the root of how we think about thinking. It's why the need to belong is so central to our understanding about ourselves. Our cognitions are based on our social identities aka the groups we belong to (Social Identity Theory, Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Understanding our groups and our relationship within that group's hierarchy develops our cognitions and drives HOW we interact with others (this determines our interpersonal behavior). How we engage with others IS mostly driven by one's interpersonal values. "Interpersonal values" and "Moral values are interchangeable.
"All cognitions are social cognitions." - John Turner
According to Kilmann, "interpersonal values and moral/ethical values are interchangeable terms. Moral values are described typically in terms of interpersonal behavior and guilt production capability. According to Rokeach (1973), moral values refer to those [values] that have an interpersonal focus which, when violated, arouse pangs of conscience and feelings of guilt for wrongdoing' (p. 8). It is interesting to compare this statement to Kelly's (1955) view that 'perception of one's apparent dislodging from his core role structure constitutes the experience of guilt' (p. 502)."
Interpersonal values and moral/ethical values are interchangeable terms
Psychotherapy is the study of value cognitions/core-constructs and cognition shift.
Core constructs are sheathed and bound by a network of emotions associated with one's constructs. For example, it's hard to change a fear or heights cognition if we experienced a traumatic experience involving heights in our childhood. It's challenging to trust others if we experienced loss of safety at an early age in life. Some cognitions are deeply rooted and stick around despite evidence proving otherwise.
I recall developing a program with Latinxs in Boyle Heights (METAS) that sought to help community members achieve their goals. It was a program that I had developed after working with youth and young adults in LA's inner city for over a decade. Most people who began the program made it through the 10-week journey; most people truly wanted to achieve their goals (a few were there for the free chips and a sense of belonging ) and we saw a high degree of success with people achieving their goals. This inner city community required a high degree of accountability and motivation.
Regarding cognition shift, a recurring theme emerged among younger participants: "I need motivation, I need someone to beat me or to have a negative consequence in order to encourage me to do what I need to do!" This sent me into a whirlwind, as I observed this in my own self. Loss aversion wasn't enough to motivate me (most humans with secure attachments and a sense of safety are motivated by loss aversion). Instead, I needed to conjur up fear of being punished, ridiculed, or shamed in order to execute. These were the mental models I learned during my early developmental stages. I couldn't be motivated to stretch myself toward what I truly wanted, I could only be motivated by the desire to escape punishment.
How can cognitions change?
The brain is capable of changing, neural networks are capable of changing, our core cognitions can change by exposure to new experiences, and by changing our environment.
IF Turner is right, "all cognitions are social cognitions," then our social cognitions need to change. We will need to be in environments that encourage cognition change in our desired direction. Observe groups that behave in the ways we would like to behave and enter these communities. Communities that don't yet exist will need to be created. This is easier said than done, but a change in environment does wonders.
1. Cognitions change with experience and exposure. Travel, surround yourself with a community who you respect, and respect you. Learn a new language. Everything makes sense in context. Enter a new context. Seek to understand, become curious.
2. Engage in psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and change unwanted patterns. Seek help in 12 step communities wherever applicable. This takes time, energy, and resources.
3. Work through Shame and frozen states. Work through somatic therapy in areas where the body is telling you it needs support. A knot in the throat, a punch in the gut, extreme anxiety, body tremors, etc.
4. Return to the body. Let the body take you where you need to go. Become curious about the body's information. Watch reactions and see what feels tender to interact with. What are we repulsed by in others. That's a great place to start.