NCA’s Monthly Teleconference Series
CARD Calls: Communicating About Research and Professional Development
Dynamic Interaction of Analytic and Intuitive Information Processing Systems
Featured Speaker:
Professor Charles Berger
Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Communication
University of California, Davis & NCA Distinguished Scholar
Moderator:
Dr. Nancy Kidd, Associate Director for Research Initiatives
National Communication Association
Monday,
November
10,
2008
CONSEQUENCES OF EXCESSIVE PUBLIC FEAR
→
Cultivation of Erroneous Beliefs
→
Reduced Achievement Standards
→
Ceding Power to the Government
Intuitive/Experiential System Characteristics
♣
Pre-Conscious
♣
Fast
♣
Emotional
♣
Processes information holistically in terms of images,
stimulus generalizations, metaphors and narratives.
♣
Effortless
Rational/Analytic System Characteristics
♦
Conscious
♦
Slow
♦
Affect Free
♦
Processes information according to the rules of logical
inference
♦
Effortful
News Stories about Threats and Hazards
♠
Tend to be anecdotal rather than statistical
♠
Tend to be unrepresentative
♠
Tend to be Emotional
♠
Seem ripe for Intuitive-Heuristic Processing
Probative Value
α
The degree to which individuals judge anecdotes to be
reliable indicators of a phenomenon’s prevalence.
β
Not the same as perceived reality. A story could be
judged to be factually accurate but also be judged to
lack probative value.
Campus Theft at UC Davis
Last week, UC Davis junior Jamie McEwen went to the Memorial Union on the UCD campus during a break between classes, as many
other UCD students do every day. Jamie was carrying a new, $2,500 Dell laptop computer in a backpack. The Memorial Union’s eating areas were
crowded with students. Unfortunately, Jamie left the backpack unattended on a table for just a few minutes while purchasing coffee at the union’s
coffee shop and bakery. When Jamie returned to the table, the backpack was still there, but it was open and the new laptop gone. The uninsured
computer contained two, just-completed term papers and class notes for which Jamie had no back-up files. During an interview, Jamie’s
choked-up voice and pained facial expressions expressed intense disgust, anger and sadness over the loss of the new laptop.
The following items refer to the
campus theft
story you just read. Please place an “X” in the space (:__X__:) that best represents your feeling.
Please complete all of the following items.
How
reasonable
is it to generalize from the campus theft story to the overall theft situation on the UC Davis campus?
Extremely
Extremely
Unreasonable____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____Reasonable
How much do you think readers should
rely
on the campus theft story as a way of knowing how widespread theft is on the UC Davis campus?
Don’t Rely
Rely
At All ____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____Completely
How
reliable
is the campus theft story as an indicator of the size of the theft problem at UC Davis?
Extremely
Extremely
Unreliable____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____:____Reliable
To what degree does the campus theft story provide an
accurate
estimate of the scope of the theft problem on the UC Davis campus?
Extremely
Extremely
Probative Value: Correlational Findings
►
Individuals who judge the probative value of anecdotal news
stories to be low also tend to:
1. report lower levels of fear in response to the stories.
2. judge the problem depicted in the story to be less
serious.
3. estimate lower levels of victimization risk.
►
Correlations between probative value and the cognitive
judgments (
r
= .45-.60) are larger than those observed for
the affectively-oriented fear judgments (
r
= .25-.30).
►
Individuals who are skilled at and favor rational/analytic
thinking tend to judge the probative value of anecdotal
news stories to be lower than do those who are less
analytically inclined; however, measures of intuitive skill do
not correlate with probative value judgments.
Priming the Two Systems
5.9 6 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9RATIONAL EXPERIENTIAL CONTROL
PRIMING CONDITION NE G AT IV E E M O T IO N CO M P O S IT 5.4 5.6 5.8 6 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8
RATIONAL EXPERIENTIAL CONTROL
PRIMING CONDITION P R O B L E M S E R IO US NE S S -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15
RATIONAL EXPERIENTIAL CONTROL
RATIONAL V IC T IM IZ A T IO N R IS K
Analytic Intuition and
Intuitive Rationality
↔
Recent studies suggest that among individuals who list
the emotions story victims’ experience after reading
threatening anecdotes, those who are primed analytically
before reading the story express more extreme negative
emotions (fear, anger and sadness) in response to the story
than do those not primed analytically before reading the
anecdote.
↔
Being “analytic” may involve both an orienting response
(pay attention) and conscious analysis.
↔
Individuals can be analytic about affect and emotional
about logical reasoning, suggesting that the two systems can
intermodulate each other and not simply run off in parallel
to be integrated by a third system.
Implications for Reducing
Unwarranted Fear
α
Train People to be Adept at Logical Reasoning
β
Teach People Useful Heuristics
▬
One case does not make a trend
▬
Anecdotal news stories generally feature statistical rarities
▬
Avoid snap judgments
2008-2009 CARD Calls
Registration Form for NCA MembersTo register for one or more of the teleconferences, please fill out this form and return it to Melissa Anderson via email [email protected] or fax (202) 464-4600. Please
note that the registration deadline for each teleconference is 72 hours prior to the start of the teleconference. However, there will be a registration limit of 100 phone lines (more than one person can be participating from a single phone line), so please register for the teleconferences that interest you as soon as possible to ensure that you get spots. You will receive a registration confirmation email within 48 hours of submitting this form. Slides for the presentation and dial-in information will be sent to all registered teleconference participants 48 hours before the teleconference.
Name: Affiliation: Email Address: Phone Number:
Registration for: (please X all teleconferences for which you would like to be registered)
Seeking Grants Effectively—featuring Brian Humes, Program Director, Political Science, Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation; Susan Morgan, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Purdue University; and J. Michael Sproule, Emeritus Professor of Communication Studies, San Jose State
University—Thursday, December 11, 2008—3:00pm Eastern __________
Rhetoric and Public Address as Education for Citizenship— Michael Hogan, Professor, Department of Communication Arts and Sciences and Co-Director, Center for
Democratic Deliberation, Pennsylvania State University & NCA Distinguished Scholar—Friday, January 9, 2009—12:00pm Eastern __________
Communication in the National Research Council Doctoral Education Survey—featuring Edward Fink, Professor of Communication, University of Maryland; Linda Putnam, Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara—Monday, February 9, 2009—1:00pm Eastern __________
Free Speech Absolutism: A Defense—James Aune, Professor, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University & NCA Distinguished Scholar—Thursday, March 12,
2009—2:00pm Eastern __________
Assessing Student Learning in an Undergraduate Communication Program—featuring Wendy Morgaine, Instructor, Child and Family Studies, Portland State University; Terrel L. Rhodes, Vice President, Office of Quality, Curriculum and Assessment, Association of American Colleges and Universities; and Helen Tate, Associate Professor and
Chair, Department of Communication and Theatre, Columbia College—Friday, April 17, 2009—3:00pm Eastern __________
TBD- Research Presentation—Monday, May 18, 2009—12:00pm Eastern time __________
Current Trends in Master’s Education for Communication—featuring James Cherney, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Miami University; Dan Cronn-Mills, Professor and Chair, Speech Communication Department, Minnesota State University, Mankato; and Kendall Phillips, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of
Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University—Thursday, June 11, 2009—1:00pm Eastern __________
Resources for National Communication Association Members
Current RFP Tracker
The Current RFP Tracker identifies funding opportunities (including research grants, residential fellowships, travel funds, awards, etc.)
for communication scholars. To access the Tracker, please go to: http://www.natcom.org/rfptracker. Questions? Contact Associate
Director for Research Initiatives Nancy Kidd, NCA, [email protected]
List of Higher Education Communication Programs
The List of Higher Education Communication Programs includes detailed information about approximately 400 institutions and the various degree programs they offer ranging from Associates Degrees to Ph.D.s. This is a living document with information being updated on a routine basis.
Questions? Contact Coordinator for Research and Educational Initiatives Melissa Anderson, NCA, [email protected]
Lambda Pi Eta Online Career Resource Center
This online career resource center is available specifically for Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) honor society members. It was developed
in conjunction with Experience, an online career resource center for honor societies. LPH members can register at: http://www.ncalph.experience.com. Questions? Contact Associate Director for Educational Initiatives
Brad Mello, NCA, [email protected]
Communication Currents
Communication Currents is an online web magazine of the National Communication Association. The site is designed to translate current communication scholarship published
in scholarly journals of the National Communication Association. Questions? Contact Editor Joann Keyton, North Carolina State University, [email protected]