Psychology & Education ( was: the Zapno (tm) anti-static device and dishonesty)

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

> > At 09:38 PM 7/30/02, Bernard, you wrote:
> >
> > > What if one believed in the claim -- is that lying?
> > >
> > > A Bill Moyers video discussed lying -- I think his conclusion is one
> > > had to know it was untrue for it to be a lie.
>
> This brings up a topic that I find fascinating since I experienced the
> phenomenon up close.
>
> Some people tell lies, but then they change their own beliefs so that they
> "know" those lies are truth.  It's very strange, like a chain of logic
> which turns into a closed loop and evaporates.  If I first tell a lie, but
> then I later talk myself into believing that I'm telling the truth... am I
> still lying?

This phenomenon is very prevalent, and can be observed by any teacher.  For
example many students convince themselves that they are studying, but when
the test rolls around, they are confronted with a discrepant event.  I am
sure that others can come up with many similar examples.  I would like to
pursue a few personally observed examples.

My grandfather, Clay Clement, was an actor of the old school who leaned his
trade in the theater.  He had great success in NY, and some in TV & Movies.
He was a great raconteur and told wonderfully funny stories at parties.
Like any good actor he repeated these stories often to different audiences,
but some were so good he could retell them to the same people.  One evening
on the way home his wife (also an actress) remarked that the story he told
at the party was very good, "but you know it isn't true."  He swore up and
down that of course it was true, and got very annoyed.  Days later he
sheepishly admitted that yes, he had made it up and put himself in it as
first person.  He said that he had told it so often that he began to believe
it.

If you wish to find a large public example of this sort of thing, look at
almost any of Ronald Regan's speeches.  He habitually picked up stories from
the media, turned them around and then told them as gospel truth.  Once when
he was challenged and shown that his story was not correct and that the
original new item contradicted his conclusion, he said "Yes, but it sounds
true."  Was he lying, because he thought the story sounded true?

People who wish to lose weight always claim that they are not eating much.
When asked to list what they actually ate that day, they will list a
reasonable amount.  However if they keep a journal, the results are quite
different.  Many other activities have the same sort of results.  Some
people are more adept at hiding the truth from themselves.  I suspect this
is much more prevalent among teenagers.

What does this have to do with education?  The process of science education
should be one where the student learns to predict, observe, question, and
draw tentative conclusions based on existing evidence.  Ronald Regan was a
person who could not do this, and in addition Alzheimer's disease has
symptoms that are observable at fairly young ages.  He was not lying
consciously so legally speaking he could not be held accountable as there
was no intent.  My grandfather was tricked by repetition, but was
intelligent enough to later realize what had happened.  Notice both are
actors.  I suspect that actors can more easily believe such manufactured
truth.

Why does this happen even when there is a memory of the actual event?
Memories are not fixed patterns stored forever in the brain.  They are
actually templates that the person fills in when they are recalled.  In
addition after being recalled from long term to short term storage, they are
then subsequently stored again.  At that point it is possible to modify and
even falsify them.  This is one of the reasons that various "reformed"
physics strategies can be effective.  The predict, experiment, resolve cycle
if done quickly can bring up misconceptions and then modify them before they
are stored again.

Is there a moral in this?  Never vote for an actor for public office?  I
would say that the real antidote for this sort of problem is to use methods
of teaching that improve students' ability to reason.  The various "active
learning" strategies and Hake's "interactive engagement" are all parts of
methods that promote improved ability to reason about the world.  Obviously
our educational system is not promoting improved reasoning or critical
thinking as much as it should.  Teaching physics or math is wonderful, but
the average course does very little for students' ability to engage in
critical thinking.

The lies in our society abound.  The most destructive is the way the tobacco
companies sell their products by implying they make you more beautiful,
popular, vigorous, sexy ...  The anti-static device in question can actually
deliver something which has not even been considered.  While reducing
painful discharges, it makes the user feel good because he has a "high tech"
device.  It comes down to image as much as reality.  Incidentally there is
another way to reduce static charges and it does not even require constant
use of a key or paying attention to what you hold when you leave your car.
Move to Houston, and you will never have this problem again.  You will also
hardly ever do good electrostatic experiments again.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX