The Power of Repeated Messages (CT Scan, Episode 40)

Repeating a lie can’t make it true, but repetition is sure an effective propaganda technique. Here are some studies that illustrate the incredible persuasive force of repetition, powerful enough to make people call a dubious statement true—even if they originally knew it was false. Amazingly, the power of repetition affects young adults and seniors differently, confirming the value of older mentors for Christian students.

DIGGING DEEPER
• Logic articles: https://answersingenesis.org/logic/
• “Catch Countless Logical Fallacies with One Critical Thinking Hack.” (2020) https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/patricia-engler/2020/07/15/catch-countless-logical-fallacies/
• CT Scan Episode 9: Check for Propaganda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhNYjrFQme8&list=PLW0NarHyjVwgIJQ_VRZdsj0prSAS_clMx&index=10&t=0s
• CT Scan Episode 27: Why Bad Logic Often Sounds Persuasive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUUIuvT04E&list=PLW0NarHyjVwgIJQ_VRZdsj0prSAS_clMx&index=28&t=0s

CITED REFERENCES
• Brashier, N. M., Umanath, S., Cabeza, R., & Marsh, E. J. (2017). Competing cues: Older adults rely on knowledge in the face of fluency. Psychology and aging, 32(4), 331.
• Dechêne, A., Stahl, C., Hansen, J., & Wänke, M. (2010). The truth about the truth: A meta-analytic review of the truth effect. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14(2), 238-257.
• Fazio, L. K., Brashier, N. M., Payne, B. K., & Marsh, E. J. (2015). Knowledge does not protect against illusory truth. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(5), 993.
• Henkel, L. A., & Mattson, M. E. (2011). Reading is believing: The truth effect and source credibility. Consciousness and cognition, 20(4), 1705-1721.
• Hertwig, R., Herzog, S. M., Schooler, L. J., & Reimer, T. (2008). Fluency heuristic: A model of how the mind exploits a by-product of information retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, memory, and cognition, 34(5), 1191.
• Unkelbach, C. (2007). Reversing the truth effect: Learning the interpretation of processing fluency in judgments of truth. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33(1), 219.

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