Hate Sells category archive

At Psychology Today Blogs, Soren Kaplan looks at the polarized state of dis coarse discourse and reminds us that “(i)t’s an inconvenient truth. Polarization feels good.” He notes that taking polarized positions feed emotional needs that inhibit efforts to reach across differences, in particular (emphasis in the original),

Choosing sides in a polarized debate gives us:

Belonging — Feeling accepted, valued, and connected to a group of like-minded people.
Control — Feeling agency and certainty in the face of a complex and unpredictable world.
Meaning — Seeing ourselves as part of something bigger, that includes a sense of purpose, significance, and moral clarity.

He goes on to list several techniques for bridging divides in a polarized environment.

Methinks it a timely and worthwhile read in these times where so many sell divisiveness–often for reasons unrelated to whatever issue may be at hand.

Robert Reich dissects the duplicity.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Sam Goldstein explores how evolution has predisposed us to be susceptible to conspiracy theories. Given the current state of dis coarse discourse, methinks it a timely and worthwhile read. Here’s a tiny bit:

While our ancestors faced immediate physical dangers and had limited data, modern society presents complex problems with abundant yet ambiguous data. Yet, we still rely on outdated intuitive heuristics.

This creates fertile ground for pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Considering the role of the “illusion of causality,” where people perceive non-existent causal links, especially in areas like alternative medicine and superstition, is critical (Blanco & Matute, 2018). These illusions persist because they exploit our evolved cognitive tendencies.

The rise of social media further worsens this problem.

Sam Goldstein, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, looks at how fiction can masquerade as fact. He notes that

Take crime, for example. Television dramas and true-crime documentaries constantly bombard us with images of serial killers, elaborate heists, and endless shootouts. As a result, many people believe that crime is spiraling out of control. However, violent crime rates have declined significantly in many countries, including the U.S., over the past few decades (Gramlich, 2020). The disconnect between reality and perception can be traced back to how stories are told—and the power of repeated exposure. When a dramatic narrative is repeated often enough, it becomes a “truth” in viewers’ minds.

He goes on to discuss how this effect also manifests itself in “social” media and “news” coverage.

In this age of mis- and disinformation, his article is well worth a read.