Gilbert’s experiment took place in an attempt to resolve a debate that had not lasted more than four centuries, this debate began in the 16th century and its protagonists were two great philosophers: René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza. The reason for the controversy was the way beliefs are formed in human beings.
René Descartes, the highest representative of rationalism, argued that understanding and belief were two distinct processes, according to him, people first acquired the information, then analyzed it and then decided whether or not to believe it; in other words, for Descartes, beliefs were the product of the analysis of the information received.
- Baruch Spinoza.
- For his part.
- Said something different.
- For this philosopher.
- Understanding and belief were two processes that were given simultaneously.
- He emphasized that by obtaining information and understanding it.
- We automatically formed beliefs.
- Us or write to us.
- Without subjecting the information to a detailed analysis.
“Intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do” – Jean Piaget-
The debate between the two philosophers was never solved at all, and to prove the validity of each of these thesis came the experience of Gilbert, whose creator was the psychologist Daniel Gilbert, with his colleagues, in 1993.
The central question of the research was whether understanding and belief were two separate processes or occurred simultaneously.
To define which of the thesis was correct, 71 volunteers gathered. Each of them received a text detailing a robbery. According to what they read, the volunteers had to decide what punishment would be given to the thief.
The text had lines in green and others in red. Participants were informed that the green lines were true statements, while the red lines were incorrect. They had to take this into account to understand the circumstances of the theft and determine the most appropriate sentence.
The statements, which were in red, and that were false, contained information on the details of the crime, some of which made the robbery more violent. They said, for example, that the thief was armed or that he was behaving aggressively.
Other texts contained sentences with statements intended, in a way, to “soften”. Crime. They said, for example, that the thief had family and children and had stolen out of necessity. They also highlighted his “friendly” attitude, and at no point was he violent.
During the course of Gilbert’s experiment, half of the participants were interrupted by distractions and the researchers allowed the other half to complete the exercise without distractions.
Those who were distracted were expected to act more naturally, precisely because they lost control of the situation and were encouraged to behave as they normally would.
At the end of Gilbert’s experiment, there was a significant difference between the sentences of the subgroup that had been distracted from which he maintained full control over the activity. In general, the group of volunteers who had been subjected to distractions did not take into account the fact that the text contained false and true statements.
Those who had received text messages that included false information about the much cruellest thief imposed a penalty twice as much as the others; those who received false statements in favor of the offender received less than half the sentence.
On the other hand, those who had not been distracted during Gilbert’s experiment ignored the false accusations and imposed a penalty based on the crime committed, had sufficient time to make this discrimination informative, so they were fairer.
The disturbing thing about this experience is that, if you consider everyday life, the false and the true do not appear in red or green.
Gilbert’s experience showed that the philosopher Baruch Spinoza was right, understanding and beliefs are formed simultaneously, basically meaning that we tend to believe everything others tell us.
It is positive up to a point, otherwise we would spend our whole lives proving the truth of the claims, but it is also worrying, because it is easy to believe details that are not true.