3 ms·

There's a study that indicates an interesting trend: you can have articles that have hard data, have soft anecdotes, or have both. Of those, the ones that try t

There's a study that indicates an interesting trend: you can have articles that have hard data, have soft anecdotes, or have both. Of those, the ones that try to do both are significantly less convincing than the ones that solely focus on one approach. I know a guy who loves articles that do both though, so YMMV.

malandrew 9y ago
Have a citation for that with data?
- scarmig 9y ago
  So, having spent some time trying to track it down, the best I found was [0], which wasn't nearly as strong as I suggested: "In an experiment, people read a realistic persuasive message that was relevant to them. Results showed that anecdotal evidence does not benefit from the inclusion of statistical evidence or from its intrinsic quality." I originally heard about this from Kevin Drum [1], but I was unable to track down the actual study he alludes to. That said, he does link to an interview [2] with... an anecdote about the use of data: "We have an experiment of helping a starving child. A certain percentage of people help [by donating money to the kid]. Then we have another condition with a different group, same child, same situation, except we put the numbers of the statistics of starvation next to her picture, and the donations dropped in half." [0] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0163853X.2017.1312195 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0163853X.2017.13... [1] http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/facts-or-anecdotes-pick-one-and-stick-with-it/ http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/facts-or-anecd... [2] https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/7/19/15925506/psychic-numbing-paul-slovic-apathy https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/7/19/15925506/psychic-nu...
  - yorwba 9y ago
    What about the other direction; do pure statistics benefit from the inclusion of anecdotes? I would expect that to be the case, at least in the general population; but you seem to say that it's not.
gozur88 9y ago
When I see an article that starts out with a "soft anecdote" I'm immediately put off because it seems like an attempt to manipulate my emotions. That's not really necessary if you have the data to support your point, so my first inclination is your data is weak and you're trying to slip something by me.
- yorwba 9y ago
  The "soft anecdote" is for the people who are bored by hard numbers and wouldn't read to the end if they didn't want to find out how the story ends. And right at the bottom is a carousel to take them to the next similar article. So, yes, it's an attempt to manipulate emotions, but it doesn't have to mean that the data doesn't support the overall point. A clickbaity headline isn't indicative of a bad article either, it just hints at the readership they're trying to attract.
toomanybeersies 9y ago
You don't have me convinced with your comment...

malandrew 9y ago

Have a citation for that with data?

scarmig 9y ago
So, having spent some time trying to track it down, the best I found was [0], which wasn't nearly as strong as I suggested: "In an experiment, people read a realistic persuasive message that was relevant to them. Results showed that anecdotal evidence does not benefit from the inclusion of statistical evidence or from its intrinsic quality." I originally heard about this from Kevin Drum [1], but I was unable to track down the actual study he alludes to. That said, he does link to an interview [2] with... an anecdote about the use of data: "We have an experiment of helping a starving child. A certain percentage of people help [by donating money to the kid]. Then we have another condition with a different group, same child, same situation, except we put the numbers of the statistics of starvation next to her picture, and the donations dropped in half." [0] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0163853X.2017.1312195 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0163853X.2017.13... [1] http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/facts-or-anecdotes-pick-one-and-stick-with-it/ http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/facts-or-anecd... [2] https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/7/19/15925506/psychic-numbing-paul-slovic-apathy https://www.vox.com/explainers/2017/7/19/15925506/psychic-nu...
- yorwba 9y ago
  What about the other direction; do pure statistics benefit from the inclusion of anecdotes? I would expect that to be the case, at least in the general population; but you seem to say that it's not.

gozur88 9y ago

When I see an article that starts out with a "soft anecdote" I'm immediately put off because it seems like an attempt to manipulate my emotions. That's not really necessary if you have the data to support your point, so my first inclination is your data is weak and you're trying to slip something by me.

yorwba 9y ago
The "soft anecdote" is for the people who are bored by hard numbers and wouldn't read to the end if they didn't want to find out how the story ends. And right at the bottom is a carousel to take them to the next similar article. So, yes, it's an attempt to manipulate emotions, but it doesn't have to mean that the data doesn't support the overall point. A clickbaity headline isn't indicative of a bad article either, it just hints at the readership they're trying to attract.

toomanybeersies 9y ago

You don't have me convinced with your comment...