Devil’s advocate and an alternative: MAAD View as slide show Adapted from AdPrin.com Using your group to evaluate your own proposals

Adapted from AdPrin.com Have you used the Devil’s Advocate approach? If yes, please define it. In 1587, the Roman Catholic Pope instituted the DA to evaluate if someone should be canonized. A group arbitrarily selects a member to find is wrong with their own proposal. When meeting face-to-face, the DA session should be short – perhaps 15 minutes. 2

What do you see as the possible defects in the Devil’s Advocate? Adapted from AdPrin.com Write your ideas. Then click this slide for the evidence-based findings. Presenters believe there is no hope of convincing someone who has been instructed to be negative (the DA). Thus, they reinforce their current campaign instead of using the criticisms for change. The DA becomes unpopular. 3

Evidence on the value of DA A review by Nemeth and Nemeth-Brown (2003) found little support for Devil’s Advocate.Nemeth and Nemeth-Brown Why? Presenters believe There is no hope of convincing someone who has been instructed to be negative (the DA). Thus, they reinforce their current campaign instead of using the criticisms for change. Adapted from AdPrin.com4

Alternatives to the Devil’s Advocate authentic dissent - When people are arguing for what they believe. The group realizes that an authentic dissenter might change, whereas there is no hope for this with the DA. The role does not protect the people playing as Devil’s Advocates – they became unpopular. Authentic dissenters also unpopular, but people respect them for their courage. 5

Authentic dissent Those with authentic beliefs do a better job in arguing their positions than do those who are merely assigned to the role. Authentic dissenters have been found (in experiments) to get people to focus more on opposing thoughts than supporting ones - thus more change. Adapted from AdPrin.com6

Multiple Anonymous Authentic Dissent (MAAD) Multiple Anonymous Authentic Dissent (MAAD) involves asking experts (e.g., project group members) to act as dissenters. Each person independently describes all perceived defects in a proposal. They send them to an assembler who distributes a report. Each person assumes that each objection has merit, and develops ways to improve the proposals. The suggested improvements are summarized and appropriate revisions are made in the advertising proposal. For more information see Persuasive Advertising p

Based on this exercise, write a small application step for yourself, and set a deadline, preferably within one week. If you are working with someone else, share your application plan and the results of your application. For example, on your next group task, request the group members to try MAAD. Adapted from AdPrin.com