You Can Change Someone’s Mind But Are You Sure You Want To? | David McRaney

We all know someone who believes in conspiracy theories and we wish we could change their mind. It is possible. There are techniques that can work to transform how people think. But what we love about our conversation with David McRaney is that he adds in a Step 0 to the process and asks “why do you want to change their mind?”

Are you open to changing your own mind? If you have any interest in changing someone else’s mind, you should be open to changing your own mind too. To effectively collaborate with others and compassionately explore differences in opinion, we need to accept that our minds too can be changed.

You should be open to changing your own mind, you should be open to collaborating with others to discover why we disagree on a topic. ~ David McRaney, episode 300 Share on X

We are delighted to welcome our esteemed guest David McRaney to this, our 300th episode of Behavioral Grooves Podcast! David takes a fascinating dive into why exactly we hold our beliefs, the science behind each of us seeing the world through slightly different lenses, and the stark reality that truth is tribal. While this is a long episode of Behavioral Grooves, you may just find yourself wanting to listen again as David’s detailed explanations are mind-blowing.

Belonging goals trump accuracy goals, every time. We're willing to be wrong, if it keeps us in good standing with our peers. ~ David McRaney, episode 300 Share on X

David McRaney is a science journalist and creator of the podcast You Are Not So Smart which explores self delusion and motivated reasoning. His excellent new book (coming out June 2022), “How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion” carefully unravels the science and personal experience of transformed thinking.

Remember the dress that divided social media a few years ago; was it blue and black or white and gold? David explains exactly why some of us saw it differently and adds a new experiment about perception to the mix – crocs and socks!

Attitudes seem to have more impact on behavior, more impact on cognition, than we thought they did. Much more than we thought beliefs did. ~ David McRaney, episode 300 Share on X

Conversations like David’s are the reason we produce Behavioral Grooves Podcast. It is a labor of love for us, and so, we really appreciate any financial support our listeners can provide, through our Patreon page. All donations help us continue the work of producing the podcast weekly. If donating isn’t an option for you, don’t worry, you can write us a podcast review which helps promote our show to other listeners. Thank you.