Ma. Erika Lourdes O.

Casanova 1 BSMS CS ENG 11 AA

THE BACKFIRE EFFECT

The two videos express the same thought, that is, in trying to prove a point

across to someone, one might have to consider the background his/her audience

come from. People do not like to be proved wrong and when they are presented with

facts and pieces of evidence that are opposed to their personal beliefs or the beliefs

imposed onto them by the society they grew up in, their minds automatically build up

a barrier that prevents them from considering the presented facts despite how

accurate those facts are. This results in a situation where instead of changing a

person’s mind regarding the topic it hand, it further strengthens the person’s initial

belief. This response is called the backfire effect.

The backfire effect entails factors such us social and tribal dynamics, which

people respond better to rather than logical analysis, and a person’s own tendency

to being offended when put in the wrong.

Because the so-called backfire effect exists, writers, speakers and anyone

who is trying to give out persuasive and argumentative pieces should make sure that

their audience feels as if they are part of a subgroup with the one who is trying to

deliver the message, or else the intended audience might think differently of the

messenger and the message, and won’t ever accept the message being delivered.

The elephant in the room that needs to be addressed is that for a writer or

speaker to combat their audience’s initial ignorance and bias, they should make their

audience feel like they belong, this makes the person delivering the message seem
less of a threat and the audience might consider what he or she has to say. The

writer or speaker should also consider that maybe the opposing idea is correct and

that he or she may be wrong. Doing so opens up more doors for open

communication and further strengthening the feeling of community created between

the messenger and the audience.

The key to giving out a good argument is actually looking at both sides of the

coin first before letting another person check out your side of the coin. A compromise

of idea is only possible if both parties can look past their initial ideas regarding a

topic and actually consider the opposing side. In fact, looking at the opposite side

could help one better improve upon their argument as they could see what makes

their statements so weak. Also doing this establishes a kind of rapport between the

people with differing arguments because they could see that the other person is

willing to consider their side.