{"id":10822,"date":"2026-07-30T06:51:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=10822"},"modified":"2026-07-30T06:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:51:27","slug":"stanford-researchers-find-a-single-question-could-be-the-key-to-changing-someones-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=10822","title":{"rendered":"Stanford researchers find a single question could be the key to changing someone\u2019s mind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Curiosity goes a lot further than we might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diversity of humanity means people won\u2019t always see eye to eye, and psychology tells us that people tend to double down when their views are challenged. When people are so deeply entrenched in their own perspectives they\u2019re refusing to entertain other viewpoints, what do we do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequently, what we do falls into the \u201cunderstandable but ineffective\u201d category. When we disagree with someone because their opinion is based on falsehoods or inaccurate information, we may try to pound them with facts and statistics. Unfortunately, research shows that generally doesn\u2019t work. We might try to find different ways to explain our stance using logic and reasoning, but that rarely makes a dent, either. So often, we\u2019re left wondering how on Earth this person arrived at their perspective, especially if they reject facts and logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stanford researchers, turning that wondering into an actual question might be the key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"discussion,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The power of \u2018Tell me more\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two studies examined how expressing interest in someone\u2019s view and asking them to elaborate on why they hold their opinion affected both parties engaged in a debate. They found that asking questions like, \u201cCould you tell me more about that?\u201d and \u2018\u2018Why do you think that?\u201d made the other person \u201cview their debate counterpart more positively, behave more open-mindedly, and form more favorable inferences about other proponents of the counterpart\u2019s views.\u201d Additionally, adding an expression of interest, such as, \u2018\u2018But I was interested in what you\u2019re saying. Can you tell me more about how come you think that?\u201d not only made the counterpart more open to other viewpoints, but the questioner themselves developed more favorable attitudes toward the opposing viewpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, genuinely striving to understand another person\u2019s perspective by being curious and asking them to say more about how they came to their conclusions may help bridge seemingly insurmountable divides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stanford isn\u2019t alone in these findings. A series of studies at the University of Haifa also found that high-quality listening helped lower people\u2019s prejudices, and that when people perceive a listener to be responsive, they tend to be more open-minded. Additionally, the perception that their attitude is the correct and valid one is reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why curiosity works<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some sense, these results may seem counterintuitive. We may assume that asking someone to elaborate on what they believe and why they believe it might just further entrench them in their views and opinions. But that\u2019s not what the research shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dartmouth cognitive scientist Thalia Wheatley studies the role of curiosity in relationships and has found that being curious can help create consensus where there wasn\u2019t any before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Curiosity] really creates common ground across brains, just by virtue of having the intellectual humility to say, \u2018OK, I thought it was like this, but what do you think?\u2019 And being willing to change your mind,\u201d she said, according to the John Templeton Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"discussion,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there may be certain opinions and perspectives that are too\u00a0abhorrent or inhumane\u00a0to entertain with curious questions, so it\u2019s not like \u201ctell me more\u201d is always the solution to an intractable divide. But even those with whom we vehemently disagree or those whose views we find offensive may respond to curiosity with more open-mindedness and willingness to change their view than if we simply argue with them. And isn\u2019t that the whole point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to actually put this into practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes what\u2019s effective doesn\u2019t always line up with our emotional reactions to a disagreement, so engaging with curiosity might take some practice. It may also require us to rethink what formats for public discourse are the most impactful. Is ranting in a TikTok video or a tweet conducive to this shift in how we engage others? Is one-on-one or small group, in-person discussion a better forum for curious engagement? These are important things to consider if our goal is not to merely state our case and make our voice heard but to actually help open people\u2019s minds and remain open-minded in our own lives as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curiosity goes a lot further than we might think. The diversity of humanity means people won\u2019t always see eye to eye, and psychology tells us that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/759622403_2693446021087833_8355208927057055280_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10822"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10824,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10822\/revisions\/10824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}