- act as if they're the sole expert on a topic (or every topic)?
- refuse to challenge their own beliefs and won't admit they're mistaken, even in the face of convincing evidence that would give reasonable people pause?
- don't engage others in open-minded, respectful dialogue?
- pressure others to admit they are right and try to prevent people from expressing their own, opposing views?
- are so emotionally attached to their beliefs they get defensive, even hostile, when someone challenges their views?
How often have you had to deal with people who have these characteristics?
For many years I actively and often loudly discussed religion and politics with my late father-in-law, G.I., who was a fundamental Bible-literalist Christian. During those years I learned a lot about creationism, evolution, separation of church and state, Biblical history, Biblical critique, and related topics. I had to read a lot on these topics to hold my own in these discussions. G.I. often raised pretty good points that I would have to go read up on.
ReplyDeleteEventually I got almost everything resolved to my own agnostic satisfaction, but my biggest question became: How could an obviously intelligent man like G.I. honestly believe (or at least assert) that Joshua stopped the sun for "about a day" (and similar stuff) just because some iron age Jewish writings said so? Your book, What’s So Wrong with Being Absolutely Right, answers that question. Thank You.
I see now that folks like G.I., Sarah Palin, and Rush Limbaugh and the tea party crowd are not crazy, as many people describe them; they are clinically dogmatic. These "clindogs" cannot see any side of any issue except their own. The truth to them is what reinforces their position. Purveyors of positions other than their own are demonized and shown on placards with Hitler moustaches.
My wife and I have been encouraging others to read your book, including e-mails to media people who are forever asking, “What makes these Republicans or tea partyers or militias act so badly?” They’ll know if we can get them to read your book.
The one thing I didn’t find in your book is how to deal with a Michelle Bachman or a David Duke or a loud tea party crowd. Any ideas?
Thank you again for your book….and may I mention two others?
1 Did Man Create God by David E. Comings, M.D.
2)On Being Certain by Robert A, Burton, M.D.
Brad
Thanks Brad for your thoughtful post. Dogmatism within the realm of religion worries me too--mostly because if we get enough religious bigots on a rampage they'll find a way to more than sully our politics--they'll move right in and become the legislators. At the moment, they have both influential and referential power. Raw power is another matter, and a bigger danger.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am flummoxed by people who, without a doubt, believe in biblical fairy tales--heavenly angels being one. An intelligent woman truly believes that after her death she will rejoin her parents and have "happy hour" in some paradise "in the sky." Seems to me this reflects the mental capacity of a five-year old. If she can believe that, what else will she surrender her otherwise capable mind to? But she is not a state/provincial legislator, and since I accept that the human species is imperfect (most certainly myself), I also accept that she has what appears to be a very small corner of insanity in her cerebral cortex. What I don't accept and will actively protest, is religious dogmatists belief that they have a "God-given right" to contaminate the secular with the sacred, and there seems to be a growing number of Americans and Canadians who are hell-bent on doing just that. Let's be vigilant Brian--you south of the 49th; me north of it.
To your question on how to deal with extreme dogmatists. I think it's almost impossible to change intransigent dogmatists because of the reasons I outline in my book; in particular, their anxiety, intolerance of ambiguity, and lack of personal insight, all of which groove a personality trait of dogmatism. Psychologists refer to ersonality traits as enduring and pervasive; they don't change easily. One question that might be helpful--one that indicates dogmatism is alive and well, barking in the psyche--is this: "What would it take for you to change your mind?" Dogmatic people will give a resounding "nothing"--or, "absolutely nothing!"
On religion. In my case, I'm very spiritual; nature leaves me awestruck and humbled--it is my God. If a religious fundamentalist asked, "Judy, what would it take to change your mind and become a believer in God, the God who gave us the words in the Bible," I'd say, "Well, if suddenly a huge being hovered over the city of Calgary, stopped all the traffic, silenced everything, and declared in a voice that echoed right through the Rocky Mountains, "Lie down on the ground now and repent. Stay there until I whisper in each of your ears that you are now saved as long as you believe in me and follow my commands." That would change my mind because something like that could not happen by chance. I'm now thinking of counter-arguments that rely on science and statistical probability--something most people are not educated to seriously entertain. I digress.
Ask people you know, ask your political candidates, "What would it take to change your mind on that issue?" As you know, I discuss cognitive complexity and cognitive simplicity in my book and I think that when it comes to political legislators, cognitive complexity is clearly lacking in some of the key players. What I like about Obama is his willingness to consider problems from wide angles and then, based on the best evidence, make a decision and lead with true grit. He's so impressive, unlike our own Prime Minister Harper who seems to have the 3 features I outlined above plus a good sprinkling of authoritarianism. He's on my mind as I work on my sequel about conservatism, liberalism, and dogmatism (needs a good title) and with my work at Mount Royal University and other commitments, I haven't taken the time to contribute to this blog.
Thanks for inspiring me to do so Brian. And thanks for the phone call--I believe it was you who phoned me at my MRU office and we had a delightful chat.
Wide angles!
Judy J.
Hello Dr. Johnson. As a former student of yours, I am thrilled about your book and personally (and academically) attracted to this topic. I see real concern when dogmatic individuals have positions of authority such as political and especially religious. While you and I DO share a passion for nature as a `spiritual`experience (I do hope I am not quoting you incorrectly) we DO have different personal viewpoints on God . I think dogmatic individuals who portray themselves as evangelical Christians have perpetuated this image that all people who believe in God (or a being or the Universe as all powerful etc..) are ignorant stubborn sexist, racist, homophobic lunatics;the ugly dogmatic bible thumping red neck outside the Planned Parenthood offices. Even though I might believe in God, I am OPEN to all points of view and I enjoy listening and discussing. I consider my spirituality a personal matter. Perhaps dogmatism as a personality trait, co-exists with insecurity, low self esteem and a need to dig in ones heels no matter how stupid their arguement. It is like a FEAR based response in my experience, to hear some uneducated, brash boorish person who refuses to look at the wide angles or any other angles! He(or she) is so afraid they cling to irrational narrow minded points of view.An issue of control at work there!
ReplyDeleteWhile politics and religion can have wide consequences , I also see domestic abuse as an example of dogmatism. Abusive partners, (especially those with personality disorder such as anti-social, narcissistic etc.) will control their spouse and children to the point that they isolate the family in order to PREVENT any outside or òther opinions or beliefs from even being part of the dialogue. The woman (in the majority of reported abuse cases) will have her abuser`s dogmatic beliefs jammed down her throat to the point she will have to believe what he says to or risk her life. I see this as a HUGE issue in society today and one that can use a `fresh`approach. It`s not anger managemen that is the problem, its perhaps dogmatism to the extreme.
There are just so many applications and implications for your research , I could discuss this all day. Perhaps we will get that chance..
Wide angles!!!!
Darlene E. (former student 1987)
Hi Darlene,
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you! I've written a long reply that I tried to post, to no avail. Before replying again, I shall see if this brief hello works.
Judy
It works! Hi again Darlene,
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't given up on looking for a reply to your thoughts on dogmatism, here are a couple of mine. You wrote, "Perhaps dogmatism as a personality trait, co-exists with insecurity, low self esteem and a need to dig in ones heels no matter how stupid their arguement." While I agree that many dogmatic people are likely insecure with low self-esteem, others feel quite confident in their certain handle on truth. Dogmatism quite possibly correlates with various personality disorders; in particular, the narcissistic personality disorder, the antisocial personality disorder, and the borderline personality disorder. I'm still looking for a scholarly article (peer-reviewed journal) for that empirical analysis (perhaps if you go on to grad school in psyc you could undertake such research for your graduate thesis--correlate dogmatism with narcissism, for example. Bob Altemeyer has developed a reasonably valid test of dogmatism and there's excellent research that tests the Closed dimension of Openness to Experience--one of the Big 5 personality traits). For an excellent contribution to the field, you could correlate Openness to Experience with Dogmatism using Altemeyer's and McCrae's tests.
The "Ottawa Citizen" recently posted my article on dogmatism in politics (google Ottawa Citizen and search J. J. Johnson, if you're interested in reading it--I've given a quick summary of dogmatism's manifestations.
Wherever your studies in psychology take you, I wish you all the best--please, do let me know if you do any research on dogmatism.
Judy Johnson
Excellent blog. I have linked to you in my own blog http://tims-ideas.blogspot.com/search/label/Anti-Dogmatism
ReplyDelete