Breaking Style

Breaking Style Breaking Style Breaking Style By Mark Nichol DailyWritingTips.com readers frequently email a message or write a comment in which they disagree with me (usually but not always respectfully) about something I’ve written. Occasionally, a reader has misunderstood me. Now and then, I’ve been unclear or I’ve made a mistake. Sometimes, the issue is of a difference between the recommendations of one style guide and another. Regardless, sometimes readers tell me that they are going to do something their way regardless of the â€Å"rules.† Writing (and editing) is both an art and a science, and the guidelines about producing prose are somewhat amorphous, for various reasons. As I mentioned, there’s more than one kind of style: Some writing and editing guides call for serial commas (a, b, and c), for example, while others recommend omitting serial commas (a, b and c) unless they’re necessary for clarity. There’s also a degree of flexibility: Introductory phrases should generally be separated from the main clause of the sentence by a comma (for example, as in â€Å"When the council met again the next day, the mood was somber†), but short phrases are sometimes given a pass (for example, as in â€Å"In effect it acts like a catalyst†). In some cases, the flexibility is a matter of formality: Contractions (such as can’t in place of cannot) are rare in academic prose but ubiquitous in colloquial writing, for example, and both extremes are intrinsically valid. But one thing I always emphasize when readers disagree with my advice is this: If you are writing for your own pleasure, or if you self-publish (whether in print or online), you are the final authority and may choose which rules to follow and which to flout (though consider that, if you actually want other people to read what you write, with great power comes great responsibility). But if you intend for your writing to be mediated if you are submitting it for publication on a website, in a periodical, or in a book you are generally expected to abide with a set of guidelines about grammar, syntax, usage, punctuation, and other issues of style. Exceptions exist, of course and they’re called style breaks, because they break with the standards for style. For example, one book I copyedited was a second edition of a guide to herbs. The author had (erroneously, according to prevailing style) capitalized all the plant names and made other editorial decisions that I thought diminished the book’s authoritativeness, so I lowercased the names and made other style changes. When I received a complimentary copy of the published new edition from the publisher, I noticed that the plant names were capitalized, as before. Apparently, the author had felt strongly about retaining the capitalization and had asked that it be restored (or had done so himself while reviewing the edited manuscript). I should have queried the publisher’s project editor before making such a comprehensive editorial decision, but I am glad that the author did not name me on the acknowledgments page. The decision about whether to allow such profligate capitalization is for the publisher to make, but although most readers may not notice or are unlikely to realize or care that lowercase style is the norm for such usage it looks amateurish, especially when hundreds of references to dozens of herbs appear throughout the book. More recently, an editor for a company that publishes commemorative books for professional sports teams told me to honor a style break for references to sports scores when I edit manuscripts. Normally, a score is set off from the rest of the sentence, as in â€Å"The 49ers beat the Raiders, 28–21, before a sellout crowd,† but I was asked to preserve the omission of commas in such constructions. This type of change is innocuous and nearly invisible, and it happens often. The copy editor simply notes the deviation from the norm on a style sheet, a record of variations in spelling, punctuation, and the like, and other editors involved in the project note and preserve the style break. Feel free to break style in self-published writing or to request that deviations from style be honored when you submit content for publication. But in either case, have a good reason for doing so, or be prepared to accept with good grace a denial of your request. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. Programme55 Boxing Idioms"To Tide You Over"

Cognitive Dissonance Definition and Examples

Cognitive Dissonance Definition and Examples Psychologist Leon Festinger first described the theory of cognitive dissonance in 1957. According to Festinger,  cognitive dissonance  occurs when people’s thoughts and feelings are inconsistent with their behavior, which results in an uncomfortable, disharmonious feeling. Examples of such inconsistencies or dissonance could include someone who litters despite caring about the environment, someone who tells a lie despite valuing honesty, or someone who makes an extravagant purchase, but believes in frugality. Experiencing cognitive dissonance can lead people to try to reduce their feelings of discomfort - sometimes in surprising or unexpected ways. Because the experience of dissonance is so uncomfortable, people are highly motivated to try to reduce their dissonance. Festinger goes as far as to propose  that reducing dissonance is a fundamental need: a person who experiences dissonance will try to reduce this feeling in much the same way that a person who feels hungry is compelled to eat. According to psychologists, our actions are likely to produce a higher amount of dissonance if they involve the  way that we see ourselves and we subsequently have trouble justifying why our actions didn’t match our beliefs. For example, since individuals typically want to see themselves as ethical people, acting unethically would produce higher levels of dissonance. Imagine someone paid you $500 to tell a small lie to someone. The average person probably wouldn’t fault you for telling the lie- $500 is a lot of money and for most people would probably be enough to justify a relatively inconsequential lie. However, if you were paid only a couple of dollars, you might have more trouble justifying your lie, and feel less comfortable about doing so. How Cognitive Dissonance Affects Behavior In 1959, Festinger and his colleague James Carlsmith published an influential study showing that cognitive dissonance can affect behavior in unexpected ways. In this study, research participants were asked to spend an hour completing boring tasks (for example, repeatedly loading spools onto a tray). After the tasks were over, some of the participants were told that there were two versions of the study: in one (the version the participant had been in), the participant was not told anything about the study beforehand; in the other, the participant was told that the study was interesting and enjoyable. The researcher told the participant that the next study session was about to start, and that they needed someone to tell the next participant that the study would be enjoyable. They then asked the participant to tell the next participant that the study was interesting (which would have meant lying to the next participant, since the study had been designed to be boring). Some participants were offered $1 to do this, while others were offered $20 (since this study was conducted over 50 years ago, this would have been a lot of money to participants). In actuality, there was no â€Å"other version† of the study in which participants were led to believe the tasks were fun and interesting- when participants told the â€Å"other participant† that the study was fun, they were actually (unknown to them) speaking to a member of the research staff. Festinger and Carlsmith wanted to create a feeling of dissonance in participants- in this case, their belief (that lying should be avoided) is at odds with their action (they just lied to someone). After telling the lie, the crucial part of the study began. Another person (who appeared to not be part of the original study) then asked participants to report on how interesting the study actually was. Results of Festinger and Carlsmiths Study For participants who were not asked to lie, and for participants who lied in exchange for $20, they tended to report that the study indeed wasn’t very interesting. After all, participants who had told a lie for $20 felt that they could justify the lie because they were paid relatively well (in other words, receiving the large sum of money reduced their feelings of dissonance). However, participants who were only paid $1 had more trouble justifying their actions to themselves- they didn’t want to admit to themselves that they told a lie over such a small amount of money. Consequently, participants in this group ended up reducing the dissonance they felt another way- by reporting that the study had indeed been interesting. In other words, it appears that participants reduced the dissonance they felt by deciding that they hadn’t lied when they said the study was enjoyable and that they really had liked the study. Festinger and Carlsmith’s study has an important legacy: it suggests that, sometimes, when people are asked to act in a certain way, they may change their attitude to match the behavior they just engaged in. While we often think that our actions stem from our beliefs, Festinger and Carlsmith suggest that it can be the other way around: our actions can influence what we believe. Culture and Cognitive Dissonance In recent years, psychologists have pointed out that many psychology studies recruit participants from Western countries (North America and Europe) and that doing so neglects the experience of people who live in non-Western cultures. In fact, psychologists who study  cultural psychology  have found that many phenomena that were once assumed to be universal may actually be unique to Western countries. What about cognitive dissonance? Do people from non-Western cultures experience cognitive dissonance as well? Research seems to suggest that people from non-Western cultures do experience cognitive dissonance, but that the  contexts  that lead to feelings of dissonance might differ depending on cultural norms and values. For example, in a  study  conducted by Etsuko Hoshino-Browne and her colleagues, the researchers found that European Canadian participants experienced greater levels of dissonance when they made a decision for themselves, while Japanese participants were more likely to experience dissonance when they were responsible for making a decision for a friend. In other words, it seems that everyone does experience dissonance from time to time- but what causes dissonance for one person might not for someone else. Reducing Cognitive Dissonance According to  Festinger, we can work to reduce the dissonance we feel in several different ways. Changing Behavior One of the simplest ways to address dissonance is to change one’s behavior. For example,  Festinger explains  that a smoker might cope with the discrepancy between their knowledge (that smoking is bad) and their behavior (that they smoke) by quitting. Changing the Environment Sometimes people can reduce dissonance by changing things in their environment- in particular, in their social environment. For example, someone who smokes might surround themselves with other people who smoke instead of with people who have disapproving attitudes about cigarettes. In others words, people sometimes cope with feelings of dissonance by surrounding themselves in â€Å"echo chambers† where their opinions are supported and validated by others. Seeking Out New Information People can also address feelings of dissonance by processing information in a  biased way: they may look for new information that supports their current actions, and they might limit their exposure to information that would make them feel greater levels of dissonance. For example, a coffee drinker might look for research on the benefits of coffee drinking, and avoid reading studies that suggest coffee might have negative effects. Sources Festinger, Leon.  A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.  Stanford University Press, 1957.  https://books.google.com/books?isbn0804709114Festinger, Leon, and James M. Carlsmith. â€Å"Cognitive Consequences of Forced Compliance.†Ã‚  The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology  58.2 (1959): 203-210.  http://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Motivation/Festinger_Carlsmith_1959_Cognitive_consequences_of_forced_compliance.pdfFiske, Susan T., and Shelley E. Taylor.  Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture. McGraw-Hill, 2008.  https://books.google.com/books?id7qPUDAAAQBAJdqfisketaylorsocialcognitionlrGilovich, Thomas, Dacher Keltner, and Richard E. Nisbett.  Social Psychology. 1st edition, W.W. Norton Company, 2006.  https://books.google.com/books?isbn0393913236Hoshino-Browne, Etsuko, et al. â€Å"On the Cultural Guises of Cognitive Dissonance: The Case of Easterners and Westerners.†Ã‚  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology  89.3 (2 005): 294-310.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7517343_On_the_Cultural_Guises_of_Cognitive_Dissonance_The_Case_of_Easterners_and_Westerners White, Lawrence. â€Å"Is Cognitive Dissonance Universal?†.  Psychology Today Blog  (2013, Jun. 28).  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-conscious/201306/is-cognitive-dissonance-universal