Post #3481158
2026-06-29 22:37 UTC
People talk a lot about "changing others' minds" and others criticize that minds cannot be changed by argument
But what if there was a 3rd option? Dr. Bob's long-term surveys point to one: changing their mind through normalization
Doing a longitudinal study of 2,000 college students and their parents over 30 years, he found an interesting trend in the cross tabs:
The most conservative actually changed their minds on sex before marriage... but not because they had a change of heart
Replies (1)
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@jhwgh1968@chaos.social 2026-06-29 22:40
To put a bit of exaggeration on it, it was about like this: 1960s: "If my daughter does the deed before marriage, I'll hold the shotgun at the wedding" 1990s: "Well it really is an affront to God and really isn't good... but I guess if they're engaged and it's very close to the wedding then FINE" These were *the same people* -- not a statistical average They disapproved... but felt nervous. Almost changing their mind against their will It was their authoritarian personality working on them