Paradoxical thinking as a paradigm of attitude change: Comparison to satire and the role of humor (or lack thereof)

The world is plagued by social problems such as violent conflicts, waves of international migration, and global warming. Solutions to these problems not only require tangible resources but importantly, often demand changes in beliefs and attitudes of society members. However, changing the beliefs and attitudes to which people strongly adhere has proven to be difficult, as these individuals resist change. In the current chapter, I will introduce a new approach, termed paradoxical thinking, to promote attitude change. It suggests that messages, consistent with an individual’s view, but formulated in an amplified, exaggerated, or even absurd manner, lead to deliberative thinking and arouse lower levels of resistance when compared to conventional persuasive approaches that use inconsistent messages, which are often automatically rejected among individuals with extreme views. The paradoxical thinking message is intended to lead individuals to perceive their held societal beliefs or the current situation as absurd, farfetched and implausible, and ultimately, to lead to unfreezing and reevaluation of held attitudes. Eventually, unfreezing may lead to openness to alternative, more moderate viewpoints that may then be adopted. In the chapter, I will first introduce the paradoxical thinking conceptual framework. I will then review the empirical evidence that supports this conception with studies that were conducted mostly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the goal of moderating conflict-supporting beliefs and attitudes. I will conclude the chapter by discussing the role humor might play in the paradoxical thinking process and the similarities and differences between paradoxical thinking messages and satire.