Weapons of mass deception: An active learning demonstration of attitudes, persuasion and the value of critical thinking skills

Abstract

This article describes and evaluates a lecture and accompanying active learning activities designed to: (i) teach and actively engage students with the theoretical principles of attitudes and persuasion; (ii) consolidate students’ understanding of these principles through actively demonstrating attitude change and persuasion; and (iii) highlight to students the importance of the critical evaluation of information. Undergraduate psychology students (N=35) completed a questionnaire measuring their attitudes towards the American and British Governments and their foreign policy before and after viewing a documentary film, and then also after a post-film critique seminar. Students’ attitudes were shown to have significantly altered in one direction during the film, and then subsequently been reversed during the critique seminar discussing the persuasion tactics employed in the film. This demonstration served to highlight the principles of attitudes and persuasion in practice as experienced by the students themselves, whilst also highlighting the importance of evaluating all information critically. Students attending the lecture and engaging in the active learning activities performed better in related assessment and reported significantly more development in their confidence regarding critical thinking skills compared with a control group of students who only attended the lecture (N=35). The results are discussed in the context of how common perceptions of barriers to class-based active learning activities might be overcome, and how the technique might be used to teach areas of psychology syllabi that students find less engaging.