American Economic Review Vol. 109 No. 3 2019
Persuasion: The Art of Changing Worldviews
open access
Abstract
Persuaders often face the task of changing their listeners’ world-view, which may involve conveying evidence that disconfirms that view. It has been shown, however, that people are often reluctant to change their worldviews. These aspects of persuasion cannot be captured in the standard Bayesian framework. The paper identifies the constraints, opportunities, and trade-offs of persuading people to change worldview. It finds necessary and sufficient conditions under which it is optimal for persuaders to do so. It also shows when and how they conceal disconfirming evidence and take advantage of their listener’s existing worldview.
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.20161441
- Volume
- 109
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 996-1031
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref