Derogatory comments and preexisting beliefs
The article is about climate change trolls, but could be applied to other things like, say, guns and gun control. it appeared that pushing people's emotional buttons, through derogatory comments, made them double down on their preexisting beliefs.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/you-idiot-course-trolls-comments-make-you-believe-science-less
The Science of Why Comment Trolls Suck
In a recent study, a team of researchers from the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication and several other institutions employed a survey of 1,183 Americans to get at the negative consequences of vituperative online comments for the public understanding of science. Participants were asked to read a blog post containing a balanced discussion of the risks and benefits of nanotechnology (which is already all around us and supports a $91 billion US industry). The text of the post was the same for all participants, but the tone of the comments varied. Sometimes, they were "civil"—e.g., no name calling or flaming. But sometimes they were more like this: "If you don’t see the benefits of using nanotechnology in these products, you're an idiot."
The researchers were trying to find out what effect exposure to such rudeness had on public perceptions of nanotech risks. They found that it wasn't a good one. Rather, it polarized the audience: Those who already thought nanorisks were low tended to become more sure of themselves when exposed to name-calling, while those who thought nanorisks are high were more likely to move in their own favored direction. In other words, it appeared that pushing people's emotional buttons, through derogatory comments, made them double down on their preexisting beliefs.
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In the context of the psychological theory of motivated reasoning, this makes a great deal of sense. Based on pretty indisputable observations about how the brain works, the theory notes that people feel first, and think second. The emotions come faster than the "rational" thoughts—and also shape the retrieval of those thoughts from memory. Therefore, if reading insults activates one's emotions, the "thinking" process may be more likely to be defensive in nature, and focused on preserving one's identity and preexisting beliefs
= new reply since forum marked as read
> You mean calling everyone "delicate flowers" doesn't persuade them?
To convince hard-line Delicate Flowers that their need for their Precious is illusory, they'd have to face many months of intense psychiatric care to rid them of their deep, deep fear & paranoia.
IOW, it's not a belief system that can be changed on a chatboard.
In fact, let me know when you find somebody out of the millions on chatboards who changed their opinion on a core issue due to posts on that chatboard. Naturally you'll have to do a lot of work to prove it, since anybody can say anything on a chatboard.
