Using your group to evaluate your own proposals

Devils advocate and an alternative: MAAD

Prepared by J. Scott Armstrong (details on him at jscottarmstrong.com). Please inform Scott about errors and also make suggestions (armstrong@wharton.upenn.edu) Scott has taken these slides from adprin.com, a site that he founded. That site contains interactive versions of these slides, along with linked references, videos, and webcasts, all in PPT and PPTX format that you can download.

Have you used the Devils Advocate approach?

If yes, please define it.

In 1587, the Roman Catholic Pope instituted the DA to evaluate if someone should be canonized.

A group arbitrarily selects a member to find is wrong with their own proposal. When meeting face-to-face, the DA session should be short perhaps 15 minutes.

Adapted from AdPrin.com

What do you see as the possible defects in the Devils Advocate?

Write your ideas. Then go to the next slide for the evidence-based findings.

Adapted from AdPrin.com

Presenters believe there is no hope of convincing someone who has been instructed to be negative (the DA). Thus, they reinforce their current campaign instead of using the criticisms for change. The DA becomes unpopular. To learn more, see AdPrin.com

Evidence on the value of DA

A review by Nemeth and Nemeth-Brown (2003) found little support for Devils Advocate. Why? Presenters believe There is no hope of convincing someone who has been instructed to be negative (the DA). Thus, they reinforce their current campaign instead of using the criticisms for change.

Adapted from AdPrin.com

Alternatives to the Devils Advocate

authentic dissent - When people are arguing for what they believe. The group realizes that an authentic dissenter might change, whereas there is no hope for this with the DA.

The role does not protect the people playing as Devils Advocates they became unpopular.
Authentic dissenters also unpopular, but people respect them for their courage.

Adapted from AdPrin.com

Authentic dissent
Those with authentic beliefs do a better job in arguing their positions than do those who are merely assigned to the role. Authentic dissenters have been found (in experiments) to get people to focus more on opposing thoughts than supporting ones - thus more change.

Adapted from AdPrin.com

Multiple Anonymous Authentic Dissent (MAAD)

Multiple Anonymous Authentic Dissent (MAAD) involves asking experts (e.g., project group members) to act as dissenters. Each person independently describes all perceived defects in a proposal. They send them to an assembler who distributes a report. Each person assumes that each objection has merit, and develops ways to improve the proposals. The suggested improvements are summarized and appropriate revisions are made in the advertising proposal.
For more information see Persuasive Advertising p 287-9.
Adapted from AdPrin.com 8

Based on this exercise, write a small application step for yourself, and set a deadline, preferably within one week. If you are working with someone else, share your application plan and the results of your application. For example, on your next group task, request the group members to try MAAD.

Adapted from AdPrin.com