Newsgroups: bit.listserv.psycgrad
Date:         Wed, 16 Dec 1992 03:18:00 EST
              <PSYCGRAD@UOTTAWA.BITNET>
From:         Anna <ROMERO@UNC.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Sitting back as a strategy for attitude change.

   Betty recently writes...

>
> As far as adopting the attitude, that I heard a while back on this
> list... "oh they just can't understand the research I do in
> psychology so I'll just joke with them and allow them to continue
> thinking that psychology is Freud."
> I think that's copping out.
> If you research is very complex, then pick a socially relevant
> example of a line of research that CAN easily be communicated
> into non-PsychoBabble and educate them!
>
> On of the coolest things that can happen to me is when I stimulate
> another person to actually examine their biased or intolerant
> or non data based attitudes/beliefs and ask... hmmmmm how come
> I do believe this way?  Could there be another way of looking at it?
> Perhaps the answer is not so much persuading them that you are correct
> and that they are in err, but stimulating them to think about why
> they believe the way they do and reasses whether could be other ways
> to look at something.  Old Socrates may of had something way back when.
> *almost* makes me wanna study attitude change!*
> Scary thought.
> Betty
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Betty,
    Why should we underestimate the intellect of those around us by
simplifying findings into what is "socially relevant"?  If we are
truely to be teachers, then we should be able to explain what we do on
the basis of how something should be scientifically interesting.  Even
those students who are taking Intro. should have a healthy dose of
experimental methodology and theoretical logic (at least mine do), not
to mention the infectious enthusiasm of conveying your own work.
Anything else would be a cop-out,
    On the other hand, there are those students who will never be
interested in science, and therefore will never get the "point" without
some kind of "realism" injected into the discussion.  Those students
will benefit from talks of "socially relevant" topics.  However, why
not let the class come up with those connections on their own??  If a
student can see why the manipulation of variables of the observation of
obscure populations can be relevant to the world that they know, then
they have made the connection between what we teach and what they know
on their own.  Isn't the ultimate point to make them view the (and thus
their) world in a different light than they did before they walked into
your classroom?  Whatever works ... works.
   Finally, I don't mean to pick on semantics, but "attitudes" and
"beliefs" are different constructs, and are not affected by the same
types of manipulations.  OK, yes, I do study attitude change.  However,
if your statement was intended as sarcasm (no flaming intended)
I'm sorry for the misinterpretation (being sarcastic myself, I've
learned that it doesn't convey well over e-mail).
                               "Till my next post..."
                                      Anna
                                      Romero@unc.Bitnet
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