If you are a keen observer of human nature, you may have noticed lately that some people just can’t seem to get along. Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on anything. Some folks are in favor of vaccines, others prefer COVID-19. If everybody carried a gun would that be the end of crime? Was the moon landing fake? Why can’t we see the other side of an argument?
A recent study conducted by Iowa State University has figured it out. They conclude that individuals are more likely to build consensus and get ahead in their job if they speak in a “supportive voice” rather than with a “challenging voice”. In other words, showing respect for another person’s opinion, even if you disagree, tends to keep open the lines of communication. How should you respond if a colleague tells you the Earth is flat? Right: “What an interesting point of view! How did you arrive at that conclusion?” Wrong: “Why don’t you hop on a cruise ship and drop off the edge of the planet?”
The ISU study does concede that a speaker using a challenging voice may appear more competent and authoritative, but others might be less inclined to work with them. Nobody likes a know-it-all. One could point out that if the Earth was really flat, rainbows would be straight and there would be no such thing as sunrise and sunset. While this might be true, it is not being respectful of other people’s astonishing ignorance.
ISU’s conclusion that being supportive is the key to cooperation seems obvious, but so is a lot of academic research. For example, there was a 2016 study published in the Journal of Health Psychology that concluded homeless is bad for your health. Having to live outside in all kinds of weather with no money or medical care isn’t good for you. Who knew?
A Cambridge University analysis reasoned that if the comic book character Spiderman could really climb up walls, he would have to have impossibly large, sticky feet. Now, I suppose they will tell us Superman can’t actually fly.
Daniel Moore and Thomas Rid of King’s College London wrote in Cryptopolitik and the Darknet that the so-called “dark” web, designed to be untraceable and anonymous, is often used for crime. A study of thousands of Japanese men and women revealed that eating a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, instead of living on sugar and alcohol, makes people live longer. (Or maybe it only seems longer.)
My favorite is the study in the Journal of American Medical Association that went out on a limb to suggest that when it gets hot in the summer, people can feel cooler, even without air conditioning, through the use of electric fans. Wow! Scientists know stuff.
In any case, ISU may be on to something with this “supportive voice” business. I mean, who wants to be challenged by some capable, competent co-worker? If we hope to get along, the tent has to be big enough for all ideas. Aliens built the Egyptian pyramids. The moon is a hologram. Bill Gates is putting mind control microchips in Covid vaccines and Elvis is alive and living in Las Vegas, impersonating himself.