Cognitive Shocks

Scientific Discovery and Mobilization

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12205693
AutoresKelly Bergstrand (0000-0002-4620-4434, University of Arizona, autor correspondente)
Ano2013
Volume23
Fascículo3
Páginas320-343
Data de publicação2013-12-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoScience as Culture (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0950-5431 • E-ISSN: 1470-1189
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09505431.2013.850471
OpenAlexW2062804636
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas49

Science, through the generation of new knowledge, has the ability to transform commonly held beliefs. Occasionally scientific discoveries produce “cognitive shocks”, which refer to new information that can restructure an individual's beliefs or understandings about the world in a way that affects attitudes toward, and support for, social change. Social movements can play a key role in deploying, framing, and in some cases, producing, cognitive shocks that affect public opinion and political advocacy. Three case studies of scientific cognitive shocks illuminate the interplay between social movements and science and the resulting effects on attitudes and activism: studies finding that smoking cigarettes and exposure to secondhand smoke have harmful health effects, studies suggesting that sexual orientation has a biological basis, and scientific evidence for cetacean intelligence. Cognitive shocks emphasize how compelling shifts in conceptual and logical perceptions can act as powerful motivators of activism and, by doing so, complement existing work done in social movement literature on the role of emotions in mobilization. It is likely that a combination of emotional and rational motivators sustain activism, and a more thorough understanding of how both of these processes affect mobilization can serve to better elucidate the mechanisms underlying opinions toward, and action taken for, social change

Action (physics · Affect (linguistics · Cognition · Collective action · Framing (construction · Perception · Political science · Politics · Scientific consensus · Social movement · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Cultural Differences and Values · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology