“I think I follow the idea of Fuzzy Trace Theory, but how could that be harnessed to win arguments? What would an example be?”
Thanks for the note. Fuzzy Trace Theory has been particularly associated with explaining false memory syndrome. Consistent with Fuzzy Trace Theory, the remedies for bad liberal thinking might include framing (positive v negative) of points being made. Remedies might also include avoidance of numerical information—people don’t respond well to quantitative information including probabilities, even though such information is valuable in making good decisions. Stick to qualitative relationships and make a few points salient. Don’t overwhelm with data or points made. Keep it simple and memorable. Sort of like a simple melody you can’t forget. A good example of this is the Eddie Eagle child safety message—that message is simple, memorable, not numerical, and can be framed in a fun way while getting serious attention from a child because it is about their personal safety (they want to be safe, of course, as it is a natural human drive). “Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.” I might even drop the “leave the area” element as “tell an adult” may accomplish that part and the remaining message is a simple, almost rhythmic message—very memorable and likely effective in protecting a child.
Perhaps the message to a liberal is “Protect yourself. [Politician] is power hungry.” Repeat, over and over. See if the lib can come up with a refutation. If the lib degenerates into emotional meltdown (they often do), hope that others see his reaction.
Just some $0.0200 thoughts.
(just getting back to this discussion)
I like this. I must confess that most of the time when I deal with the left it is either alpha-mode (”get away from me or I’ll kill you”) or FUD mode where I attempt to discourage the softer, non-activist leftists (“Protect yourself. obama is power hungry and will sell you out.”)
I’m going to go back and study AnonymousConservative’s blog for more tips on non-conventional approaches to cross-ideological communications.
Mama always taught me that there’s more than one way to skin a cat (I always wondered what she had against cats? ;-)
Every time Eddie Eagle comes up, I remember my boys coming home after seeing the program. They were so young that their version was “Stop. Don’t touch. Go tell an areadult.”
Took me a long time to figure out what an areadult (area-adult) was. Yes, I agree that the area statement was superfluous. LOL