Changing Minds
The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds
Howard Gardiner (2006)
Book Synopsis and Review
This is a book about the psychology of changing minds. Gardner is a
Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education. He is widely accredited with having introduced the theory of
Multiple Intelligences which are discussed in the book. He has
published widely on related themes.
In this book he offers a framework for understanding what it is we have to do
when we try to influence someone to change their mind.
Preface
Gardner asserts there is a difference between the original formation of mind,
as in a child’s initial ideas about the composition and motions of the world and
what it takes to change a mind once formed.
There is also a difference between a deepening of the mind as occurs when
one learns more about a subject or enhances one’s skills and the
transformation of the mind which occurs when one’s knowledge or skill veer in
a new and different direction.
He uses a kind of rubic cube to suggest a three dimensional approach to
changing minds. The first is the four entities of mind change ( stories,
theories, concepts and skills); the second: the six arenas of mind change
ranging from the large arena of a nation to the intimate arena of one’s own
family and one’s self; the third: the seven levers of mind change all beginning
with the letters RE. Trying to change minds involves identifying the specific
entity, the particular arena and the most suitable lever (4X6X7 a combination
of 168 possibilities). He acknowledges there may be more than seven levers –
it is for individuals to develop their own repertoire of levers.
His general advice would be to spend less time trying to convince individuals
of a new perspective and more time trying to understand and thereby
neutralise the resistance. (Is this about the mind’s fidelity to the past?
(Hodgeon))
He continues to say the changes in mental models or patterns of behaviour
may reflect procedures that are invisible to most actors. Individuals think and
behave differently depending upon whether the culture of their organisation is
flat or hierarchical, whether it is flexible or rigid. If these aspects of
organisational culture change then it is likely behaviour will change as well.
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This suggests that culture has a significant role in changing minds and that
the forces of change be imperceptible.
In the book he concludes with a reference to wetware (the brain), dryware
(artificial intelligence and computer technology) and goodware which is about
changing minds in the future for the better. In the case of the latter he
discusses the importance of trust. Much of one’s capacity to change the
minds of others hinges on whether or not one is trusted, seen as trustworthy,
deemed to be a trustee (concerned with the future wellbeing of society). If this
were to be articulated as a lever it would fall within the aegis of resonance.
Chapter 1
The Contents of the Mind
Minds are inevitably difficult to change but so many aspects of our lives are
driven towards it. However the majority of changes are fairly trivial, where
shall we eat what shall we do or wear etc. etc. Profound mind change is often
more difficult to detect and contrary to the belief that it occurs following some
kind of epiphany it is often the result of a slow almost unidentifiable shift in
view point. Although it might appear as sudden, reflecting a dramatic eruption
in consciousness it has often been developing gently over a lengthy period of
time.
A key to changing minds is to produce a shift in the individual’s mental
representations which is the particular way a person perceives, codes retains
and accesses information. Gardiner uses the example of Pareto’s 80/20 rule
that fundamentally challenges our view of everything as proportionate, equally
distributed and causally related. Mental representations have a content and a
form or format. The content is the basic idea contained in the representation.
The form or format is the particular language or system of symbols or notation
in which the content is presented. Using different formats to express different
versions of the content is an extremely useful way of changing minds.
The Seven Levers (Re’s)
Reason
A rational approach involving the identification of relevant factors, weighing
each in turn and making an overall assessment. It can involve sheer logic, the
use of analogies or the creation of taxonomies.
Research
Complementing the use of argument this involves the collection of relevant
data. It can occur formally or informally.
Resonance
This appeals to the affective element of the human mind. A view perspective
or idea resonates to the extent that it feels right, seems to fit the current
situation and convinces the individual that all other arguments are
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superfluous. It often comes about because one feels a relation to a mindchanger finds that person reliable or respects then.
Representational Redescriptions
The argument becomes convincing when represented in a number of different
forms, all of which reinforce one another. The more ways in which a case for
change can be represented the more likely it is to be accepted
Resources and Rewards
Change is likely to occur when considerable resources can be drawn upon to
reward individuals for one individual behaviour over another.
Real World Events
Sometimes, an event occurs in the broader society that affects many
individuals not just those who are contemplating a mind change e.g. wars
hurricanes, terrorist attacks, economic recessions.
Resistances
It is easier to change the mind of someone who is young. As people get older
they develop and retain stronger views and ideas that are often resistant to
change. Changing minds isn’t just about facilitating the positive but also
addressing the negative.
Gardiner’s six arenas one of the two other dimensions to be addressed when
changing minds includes:
1. Large scale changes involving heterogeneous groups such as the entire
Nation;
2. Large scale changes involving a more homogeneous group such as the
health service or local government;
3. Changes brought about through works of art, science or scholarship, such
as Einstein, Marx, Darwin, Picasso etc.;
4. Changes within formal instructional settings such as schools
5. Intimate forms of mind changing involving two people or a small number
such as a family;
6. Changes within one’s own mind
Gardiner’s entities, the third element or dimension of changing minds
includes:
1. Concepts – an umbrella terms that refers to any set of closely related
entities e.g. civilisation, democracy, winter etc;
2. Stories - narrative describing events that unfold over time;
3. Theories – relatively formal explanations of processes in the world;
4. Skills – that which individuals are capable of doing.
Stories and theories are by their nature propositional while skills consist of
procedures that individuals know how to carry out. Applying the principle of
form and content to skills is less easy to do because they are co-dependent.
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Such as W.B.Yeats famous query, ‘How can one tell the dance from the
dancer?’
For Gardiner these are the major kinds of content that inhabit the human
mind. As entities we must work through them in order to change minds.
Chapter 2
The Forms of the Mind
Gardner defines intelligence as a biopsychological potential to process
specific forms of information in certain kinds of ways. This underpins his
theory of multiple intelligences which suggest the more intelligences you can
appeal to when seeking to influence and change the mind of someone else
the more likely you will be successful. The important point to remember is that
these intelligences are not equally proportioned within an individual. They can
vary significantly accounting for the fact that some individuals are very bright
in relation to particular kinds of knowledge and less so in relation to others.
The intelligences he has identified are as follows:
Linguistic intelligence
This is about the ability to use spoken and written language. Individuals who
posses this may be good at writing or learning other languages, presenting or
using language effectively.
Logical-mathematical intelligence
As suggested in the title this is about scientific and numerical skills.
Musical intelligence
The ability to appreciate and produce music, almost like a kind of linguistic
intelligence.
Spacial intelligence
The capacity to form special representations or images in one’s mind and to
operate upon them variously.
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence
The capacity to solve problems or create solutions using one’s whole body ie
hands or mouth – (someone good with their hands).
Naturalist Intelligence
The capacity to make consequential discriminations in the natural world ie
between one plant or animal and another.
What is fairly evident is that the first three are systems of intelligence that
work with symbols and codes. The latter are primarily concerned with material
objects. Both categories involve concepts, stories, theories and skills. But
proportionally, the latter three are more to do with skills and the former with
concepts, theories and stories.
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Gardner goes on to speak of a third group of intelligences called
interpersonal intelligence externally focused upon other people and
intrapersonal intelligence which broadly translates into self-knowledge.
These two kinds of intelligence we would regard as emotional intelligence. ‘
We come to know ourselves by making use of the distinctions involved in
coming to know others.’ (Page 39)
Finally he identifies existential intelligence this is about the human capacity
to pose and ponder the big questions who are we? why are we here? What is
it all about?
Chapter 3
The power of early theories
-Using the development theories of Piaget, Gardner suggests that we learn to
theorise at a very early age and that these in turn become difficult to alter or
reshape in adulthood. We don’t theorise to be correct but to connect. We try
to connect by making sense of the world but it doesn’t mean that we are right.
We consequently presence ourselves within conversation with others where
we articulate our theories. All theories have surface plausibility about them
but regardless of their value they tend to endure. To evidence his case
Gardner provides a taxonomy of theories that we are prone to making (Page
55)
Factors that impel changes of mind
Often we are impelled towards mind change when confronted by alternative
views that are powerful and rich in information.
Vygotsky advocated finding the current extent and weight of a persons mental
representations before trying to substitute them fro others. In relation to
children Vygotsky suggested that poor performance can be significantly
improved by proving scaffolding- the orderly provision of just enough support.
Successful scaffolding is internalised eventually becoming part of the
architecture of the way a person thinks.
Chapter 4
Leading a Diverse population
To Change minds effectively leaders make particular reference to two tools;
the stories they tell and the lives they lead. In terms of the levers they use for
change the resonance between the stories they tell and the ay the conduct
their lives is highly important. Garners cites the likes of Mahatma Ghandi,
Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton as examples of this. New stories will
supplant old stories drawing upon all the levers of mind change to succeed. In
addition to its conscious appeal a story must be able to capture an audience
at a deeper more visceral level.
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Chapter 5
Leading and Institution: How to deal with a Uniform Population
Gardner uses this chapter to provide an example of changing minds using
each of the levers at an American Educational Institution.
He concludes by suggesting that Leaders draw upon intellectual, instinctual
and moral resources to be successful. In his view successful leaders
generally exhibit three intelligences. Firstly, as storytellers they must be gifted
linguistically. Leaders require significant interpersonal intelligence (emotional
intelligence). Thirdly they require existential intelligence. They need to be
comfortable with posing significant questions.
Chapter Six
Changing Minds Indirectly – through scientific discoveries, scholarly
breakthroughs and artistic creation
In this chapter Gardner uses the examples of Marx, Einstein and Picasso to
demonstrate how new thinking can be facilitated in others. He articulates the
case that often people are tied to old ways of thinking and doing so new
theory must draw upon all the levers to provide a successful challenge. He
draws the conclusion that later borns are statistically more likely to embrace
change than first borns.
Chapter 7
Mind Changing in a Formal Setting
Gardner offers a brief history of school education to illustrate the mind
changing properties of early education. He suggests that the key lever to
mind change in these circumstances is through representational redescription. To do this successfully one must engage in one or more of the
following activities to factor in the theory of multiple intelligences:
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Narrative (telling stories about the issue)
Quantitative (using examples connected to the topic)
Logic (identifying key elements and exploring their logical connections)
Existential (addressing big questions such as the nature of truth)
Aesthetic ( examining instances in terms of their artistic properties)
Hand-on (working directly with tangible examples)
Cooperative or social (engaging in projects with others)
Chapter 8
Mind Changing Up
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At this point in the text Gardiner reminds us that it dangerous to make the
assumption that mind change is about the acquisition of knowledge and that
the more knowledge we give to people the more likely they are to be opened
minded and change. This is not the case.
It is clearly evident that individuals will not be influenced by the same thing or
for the same reasons. If we hope to be successful in changing the mind of a
particular person it is vital to find out about her traits, dispositions, scripts and
favoured mental representations. Some must be deduced before hand and
some during the encounter, requiring the influencer to be truly present.
In order to resonate fully with the individual to be influenced Gardner
recommends the following considerations which he suggests operate a on a
continuum rather than a binary framework:
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Argument, facts, rhetoric. Is the person moved chiefly by argument
and logic, facts and oratorical endeavour?
Central versus peripheral routes. Is the person more likely to be
engaged by a direct discussion of the issue?
Consistency. How concerned is the person with consistency?
Stance on conflict: how much is the person bother by the give and
take of argument?
Emotional charged territory: What are the issues and ideas about
which the person feels strongly?
Current scripts – content: On any topic the conversants will have
certain scripts or mental representations that are more of less well
consolidated. What are the scripts and how strong do they adhere to
them.
Current scripts – form: when demonstrating the argument does the
individual like graphics text statistics pictures or stories.
For Gardner, the most important thing is to avoid geocentricism –
becoming ensnared in one’s own construal of events. The purpose of
mind changing encounter is not to articulate ones own point of view but
rather to engage the psyche of the other person.
Chapter 9
Changing one’s own mind
All seven levers of mind change can play a role in changing our own
minds as well as that of others.
Chapter 10
Epilogue: The Future of Mind Changing
Recap for those who have not been paying attention
Generally mind change involves the alteration of mental representations.
We develop these from the beginning of life. Mental representations have
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a content – ideas, concept, skills or stories or fully fledged theories
(explanations of the world). These contents are expressed in a variety of
forms media or symbolic systems (writing, mathematics art etc). We use
7 levers to engage with individuals who we want to influence and develop
our strategy depending upon the context, circumstances and the audience
size.
Appendix
A framework for analysing cases of mind changing
Example:
Type of idea:
concept/story/theory/skill
Charles Darwin’s Evolutionary revolution
Theory
Desired content:
The mind change being
sought
Origin of species through natural selection
over long periods of time
Counter content:
The idea that runs counter
to the desired content
Religious accounts – intuitive theories of
creationism
Type of audience/arena:
Large/small;
diverse/heterogeneous
Initially small and uniform (scientific
community) but eventually larger and more
diverse
Format:
Intelligences, media symbol
systems
Linguistic argument in book form,
corroborating evidence in fossils, flora and
fauna
Levers of change:
The most germane of the
seven levers and
considerations that
determine whether a tipping
point is reached
Reason, research, representational
redescription, overcoming resistances
ISBN 1-4221-0329-3 (ISBN 10)
This book review forms part of the PSMW Ascend Learning Library