Thinking Points

Applied Cognitive Science

Thinking Points Defined

• Tolerance leads to Unity• Diversity gives Us Strength• Common Good brings Dreams About• Respect for Human Dignity

– Increases Opportunities– Releases Creativity– Generates Wealth

Key Long-Term Strategies

• Concentrate on Values and Principles• Be Authentic

– Means Having Courage

• Stick Up for What You Believe – Consistent Vision

• Empathize and Connect– Care and Act on that Caring

• Framing– Facts in Context

• Avoid the Traps

V I S I O N

Use Words and Language in the Service of Our Deepest

Convictions.

Framing

• Frames are mental pictures that allow human beings to understand reality and sometimes to create what we take to be reality.

• Framing is Applied Cognitive Science.

• Frames facilitate our most basic interactions with the world.

Framing

• Frames structure our:– Ideas & Concepts– Shape the Way We Reason– Impact How We Perceive– Impact How We Behave

• Use of Frames is Unconscious & Automatic

• We Use Them Without Realizing It.

Framing

“Social Institutions and situations are shaped by Mental Pictures (Frames), which determine how we Behave in those institutions and situations.”

“Frames are, to use a Metaphor, “Life as a Play”.”

~~Erving Goffman, Sociologist, Frame Analysis

Frame or Lose

Brains Change AND They Change More Radically Under

Conditions of Trauma Than Under Ordinary Conditions.

Cognitive Modeling & Theory

• The Metaphor– Explains many profound differences– Biconceptuals

• Both viewpoints are seared into our brains• Each may be used actively or passively• The models are cultural. By living in the

same culture we are familiar with both models.

– Naming is an Inexact Art• Capture the Focus and Implications

Twelve Traps to Avoid• The Issue Trap

– Get out of the issue silos, they isolate– Define the Overall Vision – Keep to the Values and Principles

• The Poll Trap– The Job of Leaders is to Lead, Not Follow

• The Laundry List Trap– Lost in Programs and Policies– Stick to Values, Connection,

Authenticity, and Trust

• The Rationalism Trap– Reason and Hard Facts Do Not Persuade

• The No-Framing Necessary Trap– People Use Deep Seated Frames– Mental Pictures to Understand Facts and

their World

• The Policies-Are-Values Trap– Policies are Not Values– Policies are Based on Values

• The Mainstream Trap– Mythical Mainstream– Reality of Biconceptuals

• People who hold both views depending upon perception, side-by-side

• The Mis-Under-Estimating Trap– Cultural Models

• By living in the same culture we are familiar with both models.

• The Re-Active Trap– Re-Act Rather than Pro-Active– Change Frames and Think Out-of-the-

Box

• The Spin Trap– Surface Framing is Meaningless– Deep Framing in the Foundation– Spin is the Dishonest Use of Surface to

Hide the Truth

• The Policy Speak Trap– Communicate Values Rather Than

Specific Policy Positions

• The Blame Game Trap– We Control Only HOW We Communicate

Clear Path Out of Traps

Understand the Anatomy of the

Vision

AND

of Communication

Nurturing Parent Model

• Authoritative without being Authoritarian

• Set Fair and Reasonable Limits and Rules

• Take Time: Discuss Issue & Explain Decisions

• Accept Questioning

• Open and Respectful Communication

Nurturing Parent Model

• Empathy– The Capacity to Connect with Other

People

• Responsibility– Means to Act on That Empathy– Responsibility for Yourself and Others

Acting On Your Empathy

• Achieves– Protection (People Feel Safe)– Fulfillment in Life– Freedom (to Seek Fulfillment)– Opportunity (Equality to Explore)– Fairness (Unfairness Stifles Freedom &

Opportunity)– Equality (the Sameness of Distribution)

Acting On Your Empathy

• Achieves– Prosperity

•because a certain base amount of material wealth is necessary

– Community •because nobody makes it alone, and

communities are necessary for anyone to lead a fulfilling life.

Cognitive Science

Getting Real About Rationality

Recognize How It Really Works!

Lessons from Cognitive Science

• Use of Frames is Mostly Unconscious– Neural Level ~ people have no idea they are

using frames, much less what kind of frame.

• Frames Defy Common Sense– One person’s common sense is another’s evil.

• Repetition Embeds Frames in the Brain– Repetition embeds frames in the brain

• Frames do Not Change Overnight– Brains Do Change and Not Quickly– Persistence is the Key

Lessons from Cognitive Science

• Speak to All as Your Audience– The brain permits different & inconsistent

worldviews.

• The Facts Alone Will Not Set You Free– We think & reason using frames &

metaphors.– Arguing in terms of facts will fall on deaf ears.– Facts are important & only make sense in

context.

• Negating the Other’s Frame Gives Them Power and Makes Them Stronger

Pragmatist

• Inauthentic pragmatist is willing to depart from Values for perceived gain. – Surrenders Vision and Trust

• Authentic pragmatist knows you can not get everything you think is Right, you can get Most of it through Negotiation.– Stick to Values and Work to Satisfy them

Maximally

The Most Powerful Form of Thinking is Strategic

• It is not just a matter of thinking ahead.• It is a matter of changing the landscape

of thought and action.• It is a matter of setting many things in

motion by setting one thing in motion.• It is a matter of reconfiguring the future

by doing one thing in the present.

Strategic Initiatives

• Proposals in one area that have an impact far beyond the explicit change promoted.

• Multifaceted Initiatives– Targeted policy has far-reaching effects– Advances a range of goals through one

goal.• Domino Initiative

– Meant as first step toward a broader goal.

– Next steps are easier or inevitable.

Ethical Business

Tool to Enhance the Common Good

Incentive: It is GOOD for Business

The Art of Successful Arguments

• They are about what is Right.• They use versions of contested

Values.• They have a structured Frame.• They have Frames that set up the

Problem and Solution.• They use Commonplace Frames that

resonate widely.• They use Language That Evokes

DEEP Frames.

How Argument Frames Work

• Remember, Frames are not simply about Words.

• Frames are Mental Pictures.• General Argument Frame

– Moral Values– Fundamental Principles– Issue-Defining Frames– Commonplace Frames

Thinking Points

Thinking IS Activism

Movements are about Values and Principles

Organizing has to be ABOUT Something

“Happiness is when what you

Think and what you

Say is what you

Do.”