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Identity and Empathy: How Narratives Connect Us To Others

Identity and Empathy: How Narratives Connect Us To Others. LtCol (USAF) Bill Casebeer, PhD SHAPE (NATO Military HQ, Belgium) drenbill@earthlink.net April 7, 2007 — Self and Other Conference. Overview. Violence as a system What’s in a narrative? Storytelling and cognition

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Identity and Empathy: How Narratives Connect Us To Others

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  1. Identity and Empathy: How Narratives Connect Us To Others LtCol (USAF) Bill Casebeer, PhD SHAPE (NATO Military HQ, Belgium) drenbill@earthlink.net April 7, 2007 — Self and Other Conference

  2. Overview • Violence as a system • What’s in a narrative? • Storytelling and cognition • A simple Aristotelian rhetorical model: ethos, logos, pathos • Examples: Peru, Polynesian Islands, Mali • ARGI Index: Measuring vulnerability to political violence • Hypotheses on ToM, empathy, and stories

  3. Violence As A System: Environment CONVERSIONS OUTPUTS INPUTS Religious Movements Ethnopolitical Groups Warlords w/ Militias Crime Networks Eco-warriors Tribes /Clans City-States Ideological Groups Private Security Groups Failures of Governance Identity Mobilization Resource Scarcity Demographic Pressures Socio-economic Deprivation Organized Crime & Corruption Identity Cleavages Reinforcing Actions

  4. SUPPORT Resource Acquisition Stakeholder Associations Recruitment ENVIRONMENT O UTPUTS I N P U T S SUPPORT MAINTENANCE Socialization to Culture Rewards and Sanctions MAINTENANCE MATURITY GROWTH GESTATION CONVERSIONS COGNITIVE COGNITIVE Learning Strategy Control / Communications CONVERSIONS Training Production Operations Organization SUB-SYSTEM FUNCTIONS

  5. Gustav Freytag Triangle (1863)

  6. Stories, Cognition, and Identity • Narratives can: • Motivate (Juarrera, Thomas/Kiser/Casebeer) • Structure reasoning…cue heuristics and biases, modulate choice behavior, change inferences (Graesser & Nakamura…schema; Fisher…problem solving; Greene…activation of moral theory) • Affect memory/recall (Chau-ping) • Shape identity and meaning…“centers of narrative gravity” (Dennett) • Identity: cognitive, realistic interest, social identity, social constructivism (Huddy) • Proof of concept: moral reasoning

  7. A Simple Evaluation Model: ELP • Ethos…credibility of source (shallow and thick) • Logos…logic of argument • Pathos…appropriate appeals to emotion So: for a given source, story and target audience, how does the narrative stack up?

  8. Examples: Peru

  9. Tanzania

  10. Polynesian Islands

  11. “Surrogate Consciousness” in Mali

  12. “Credentialing” in Mali

  13. Narrative Recruitment • Hizballah…roll film

  14. Counter-Narrative Strategies 1) Target audience characteristics are critical, 2) Darwinian competitiveness counts, 3) Aristotle is better than nothing, 4) There are two important story sets: the ones our adversary is telling, and the ones being told implicitly and explicitly by us, 5) Tactical success may require overriding strategic story considerations, 6) Stories with firewalls are better than stories without defenses, 7) Adaptability and flexibility are important 8) Listening is a critical start 9) Authenticity is king

  15. U.S. High/ Heterogeneous Group Identity 1 At-Risk Group Identity (ARGI) Index:Measuring Vulnerability to VNSA Genesis IRAQ CHINA SGI = HET x GI PERU MALI YEMEN Low/ Homogenous Group Identity ICELAND 0 0 1 High At-Risk Status Low At-Risk Status AR = INV(PO) x MR x FR

  16. Parting Thoughts • Narratives/stories important part of ecosystem of violence • E/L/P evaluation a good first hack…consider viral marketing measures • Relationship between physical action and story reception needs further analysis • Always ask: What is setup? Climax? Resolution? How are stakeholders shaping this dynamic?

  17. Review • Terrorism as a system • Drilling down: narratives • Storytelling and cognition • A simple Aristotelian rhetorical model: ethos, logos, pathos • Examples: Peru, Polynesian Islands, Mali • ARGI Index: Measuring vulnerability • Parting thoughts Thank you! drenbill@earthlink.net

  18. Spare Slides

  19. Further Proof of Concept:Greene’s Findings--Trolley Problem -Description of experimental setup (Greene et al ’01) -Findings: personal vs. impersonal setups activate different brain structures (MFC/PCG/AG)

  20. Upshot: Terrorism • Practical issues: terrorist recruitment • No consideration of how tactically effective actions may fit into strategic narrative concerns • Identity entrepreneurs…what stories are they telling? • Example: Abimael Guzman and the Sendero Luminoso

  21. Sendero’s growth

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