For months, Barack Obama's campaign has been fighting a chain e-mail that claims he's secretly a Muslim. Of course, Obama is currently consumed with a separate controversy surrounding his religion, but in yesterday's New York Times Magazine I looked into why the Muslim rumor has been so difficult to combat, and why it may pose trouble for Obama in the future.
The problem, I argued, has to do with difficulties we all encounter in separating truth from fiction. In particular, I looked at one "paradox of social psychology, a problem for myth busters everywhere: repeating a claim, even if only to refute it, increases its apparent truthfulness."
In the Times, I went over much of the research behind this idea, including a study by psychologist Ian Skurnik in which seniors who were told repeatedly that a given health-warning was false tended to remember, three days later, that it was true. This suggests that Obama and his supporters need to be careful in fighting the Muslim myth -- by repeating it in their debunking, they run the risk of convincing people of its accuracy.
But due to space constraints I didn't get to mention some other interesting studies concerning tricks our minds play on us when we're trying to suss out what's true from what's not. Among them, this finding: We tend to believe rhymed phrases more easily than we do non-rhymed phrases.
In 2000, Matthew McGlone and Jessica Tofighbakhsh, both then of Lafayette University, asked undergraduates to read lists of unfamiliar English aphorisms; some of the students got lists that contained rhymed aphorisms (for instance, "Life is mostly strife," or "Woes unite foes") while others got aphorisms that were substantively the same, but without rhymes ("Life is mostly struggle," or "Woes unite ememies.")
McGlone and Tofighbakhsh found that people were far more likely to consider the rhymed phrases as accurate representations of human behavior. Tell someone, "What sobriety conceals, alcohol unmasks" and they're likely to think you're a fool. But say, "What sobriety conceals, alcohol reveals," and you'll be considered sage. The phenomenon, of course, also explains the courtroom successes of the late Johnny Cochran. ("If it doesn't fit....")
Why does rhyming suggest truth? Most likely because rhymes make phrases easy to remember, and many studies show that the more familiar we are with an idea, the more likely we are to think it's true. (That's precisely why you don't want to repeat a rumor when you're trying to stop it.)
McGlone and Tofighbakhsh's study, by the way, carries a beautiful title: "Birds of a Feather Flock Conjointly (?): Rhyme as reason in aphorisms."
BOOKS
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Obama's first book, a memoir focused on personal issues of race, identity, and community.
By Barack Obama
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Obama's second book, in which he shares his personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people.
By Barack Obama
10 reasons there's a bright future for journalism
An optimistic take on what's coming, both for news outlets and news consumers.
By Mark Glaser, Salon
Obama: From Promise to Power
In this compelling book, a Chicago Tribune reporter draws on interviews with Obama, his family, friends, and rivals, as well as his own extensive coverage since Obama's days in the Illinois Senate, to offer a nuanced look at a man of idealism and ambition intent on making history.
By David Mendell
SPEECHES
July 28, 2004: Obama's first national prime-time speech
In this speech, Barack Obama urges America to remember its unity, pledging that "out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come."
August 28, 2008: Obama's acceptance of the Democratic Party's presidential nomination
In this speech, Obama lays into John McCain, describing him as "anything but independent."
November 5th, 2008: Obama's victory speech
In this speech, Obama tells his ecstatic supporters, and the entire nation, that "change has come to America."
January 20, 2009: Obama's inaugural address
The new president calls upon the nation to face its challenges head on, with determination, strength and a commitment to ensuring the delivery of freedom to future generations.
SALON STORIES
How would Barack Obama handle foreign policy?
The presidential contender on dealing with Iran, fighting AIDS in Africa and restoring America's standing in the world.
By Walter Shapiro, Salon
Chicago is Barack Obama's kind of town
The city has a unique history of launching the careers of powerful black politicians -- which is part of the reason Obama moved there.
By Edward McClelland, Salon
American revolutionary
In his acceptance speech, Barack Obama stood up for Democratic values, took the fight to McCain -- and proved that the United States is still capable of reinventing itself.
By Walter Shapiro, Salon
Barack Obama's epic win
The culmination of a brilliant campaign, Obama's unequivocal defeat of John McCain marks a political and generational transformation.
By Walter Shapiro, Salon
Barack Obama, honeymoon killer?
The Clintonites in his Cabinet, forgiveness for Lieberman, the creeping signs of centrism -- progressives aren't ready to panic, yet.
By Mike Madden, Salon
"A new era of responsibility"
Mixing straight talk about dire times with lofty rhetoric about hope and determination, Obama repudiates Bush and vows to get to work.
By Mike Madden, Salon
OTHER STORIES
The Conciliator
Where is Barack Obama coming from?
By Larissa MacFarquhar, The New Yorker
Time's "Person of the Year" coverage of Obama
A strangely fascinating database of Obama-formation, including everything from "6 Degrees of Obama" to a collection of Obama-themed art from Flickr.
Time
The presidency of Barack Obama
This New York Times megapage is the last word on Barack Obama, including everything from his personal biography to his current political stance on detainees and Africa.
The New York Times
Afghanistan: What's the Best Bad Choice?
Tiger Comes Clean, Issues Statement
President Declares Friday National Day of Leftovers
