The high horse effect

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The high horse effect

An objective stance? Thinking before we speak? Looking for data? Risk it might not support our opinions?

As humans, we are flat out against these. 

Here is how and why.

The mechanics

As any animal, we quickly asses a situation and then we act. It's a survival mechanism. Those who pause might get eaten. Only via a conscious will can we attempt to actually look at something, and try to find out how it works. Many people today would either quickly kill snakes when they encounter them, or run away. If it works, this first reaction usually sticks. People will repeat it in the future. A few will attempt to study the animal. Those that do usually profit. For instance they find out that snakes control pests. It's better to create safe lanes for humans in a field of corn, than to kill snakes.

The same goes for opinions. We have many daily interactions with other humans, nature, technology etc. For some of the more complex interactions we rely on preformed opinions to enable us to interact quickly. Basically these are preformed judgements, viewpoints or assumptions. They are not facts in the sense that they have been verified.
Opinions can be the result of reasoning. Arriving at some conclusion based on the available data after carefull consideration. However as humans we need a great many opinions. Too many to form conciously. Should the ventilator be on or off at work? Should i buy apples from store X or Y? A way to save time is the unconsciously formed opinion. Our need is not to find truth, which takes time, but rather to be able to interact efficiently (which usually means quickly). And once the opinion is formed, we rarely go back to consciously examine things. If we had to do that for every opinion we formed, we would never have time for actually doing something. Only if we experience total failure of an opinion might we attempt to replace it.

The nature, content and mechanism for unconciously formed opinions are as follows. We rely on incomplete information from sources like experience, teaching and our own imagination. The method for collecting this data is unconscious incidental exposure. The actor that compiles out of this enormous pile of data a usable datastring the moment we need an opinion is the unconscious mind. Only it has the processing speed to almost instantly deliver. Usually an emotion is attached to the opinion. We like or dislike something. Others can quickly understand how we feel about a certain topic via empathy. This again saves a great deal of time. The common opinion usually consists a short statement, sometimes accompanied with a short reasoning based on the data we have. Fast and easy.

Opinions can be carried from interaction to interaction, eventually becoming part of us. They can be reinforced or broken down by new data from sources like experience, imagination and teaching. Opinions are usually kept unless the other side in a discussion can present data to the contrary that we perceive as factual. In groups individuals usually accept the commonly held opinions. 
A belief is more or less an extended opinion, more deeply ingrained. A much larger story often comprised of multiple elements that had much more reinforcement. However the method for acquiring the data on which we base the belief is the same: incidental. And again we usually attach an emotion to the belief. Since their structure is more complex, relying on more data points, beliefs are much harder to alter than opinions.

Example: your parents might teach you all your life that snakes are from the devil, thus transferring their belief (and emotion!) to you. However, compared to the active will behind a study, it's an incidental method of gathering data. Your parents just happen to believe that snakes are evil, and you just happen to be the recipient of this belief, as opposed to being born in another family. When someone comes along and tells you snakes are just animals, not good or bad, you won't be convinced. Even if that person argues their benefits as a pest control, this would not counter the link between the devil and snakes.

Opinions and beliefs allow us to act efficiently in the world. As a metaphor one could use that of a pair of colored glasses. The sets of opinions and beliefs we posses make us see the world in a certain light. The benefit is speed, they allow us to make choices very quickly by not showing the other colors. Thus they provide a great deal of automation in our behavior. However this pre determination in our behavior can be a drawback. It limits our options for response. We also have trouble looking at things in another light. This effect is enhanced by the fact that we value our opinions and beliefs greatly. Over time they become part of our identities, of who we are as a person. It is natural to defend them, both for groups and individuals. If our opinions and beliefs could be quickly overcome, we would fall apart as a person, unable to act in a consistent manner. This defense however brings another limit to our behavior. Our ability to respond to conflicting data is diminished.

Getting high

Since opinions and beliefs often have an emotion attached, overuse of beliefs and opinions can produce an emotion induced chemical high and become addictive. It's what i call the high-horse effect. It's similar to what happens in the brain of an adrenaline junky. As for the science behind this: see wikipedia on the limbic system and neuro transmitters.

This high might occur during any group event where people activate each others beliefs time and again. Easy examples are of course protest marches. However when evaluating a new product in a business meeting the same might occur.

People can also produce this high all by themselves and it can last for a life time. A woman might read a lot of articles by the feminist movement. In the absence of other data, she might form a feminist opinion after one or two articles. A few articles ahead it becomes a belief. She then starts to actively interpret everything she experiences through this belief. If continually stimulated by related events, she might become high. She might become addicted, and proclaim her belief to the world. Any data that counters this belief, and thus the high, will be disregarded, or more often, reinforce the belief via our defensive tendency.

Often these highs are produced via interactions with groups or individuals that have contradicting beliefs. In such a situation both sides could get high, which can be a factor in escalation.

Drawbacks

Opinions and beliefs are usually the product of the automated side of our human being. Science on the other hand is a product of our conscious mind, the part of us that allows us to say: hey, stop, let's take a look. There is nothing unnatural about automated beliefs and opinions. However they can work against us. Our options for interaction become limited. Also there is the possibility of becoming high which can be dangerous. When it comes to movements, the resistance to new data is especially limiting. Our beliefs can outstrip facts by a certain margin and thus become ineffective.

For instance, feminism is partly based on facts, and partly on beliefs. In the past, women could not vote, could not go to college, etc. If there ever was a divorce, a woman was simply kicked out of the home without any rights. One of the more common feminist beliefs is that a woman needs protection from a man. Another is that a woman should be the primary support for the children. In addition, it is believed that a woman cares more about her children, while the man is likely to be less involved.

Much has changed for the better, towards equality. However feminist beliefs actually led to men ending up on the negative side of a new inequality (source: Karen Straughan & Dave Rubin). In contemporary American divorce law, a woman is right by default. A divorced man often finds himself cut off from his family. He is now the one that gets kicked out of the house without any rights. Visitation depend on whether or not the woman decides to call her husband violent in court. This leads to a lot of suffering, this time on the male side of the equation. Men also love their children. Though men are reportedly more violent, a lot of the violence within relations does come from women, whether physical or emotional.

Conclusion

The high horse effect can plague any person or movement. It's quite a natural phenomenon. A good idea is to always implement a fact check whenever we face an important issue. Another good tip is to examine alternative ideas and beliefs for their merits.