What does it take to change an opinion? Can you provide examples of a belief or conviction or opinion you used to have and what persuaded you to change your opinion?

I know for me it takes 2 things. The person convincing me must have sound logic to back them up, and they must go about it in a nice way. I would be kidding myself if I said I didn’t get stubborn when someone was being an ass to me.

But I have changed my mind many times, and it simply takes logic and niceness.

It takes logic. That’s all. I’ve changed many an opinion in my life. It’s part of growth.

I have always been supportive of the gay community, but I felt stongly that Marriage should be between a man and a woman.
About 8 years ago, I completely turned around on that. I saw the unfairness of it all, and now strongly support gay marriage.
I was absolutely wrong before.

@filmfann good for you. thank you for sharing that.

My opinion is always open to change if I am provided with evidence that supports a different opinion than mine. I examine this and change my opinion as is appropriate.

My most recent opinion change is that Obama is a decent person and that he was going to do a good job. As I have watched since his election I have become increasingly disappointing with his job performance. Regarding the job performance, he has not lived up to his promises (like that is a surprise regarding any politicians) and, like I did with Bush, I am going to hope that he does step up his game and do a good job. I believe in always supporting the President because wishing him well means wishing the nation well. Regarding him personally, I do not think my personal dislike is going to change.

My opinion of his job performance is, again, open to change if he does pick it up.

Another example is my loss of any form of faith that there is ”justice” in the “justice system.” That has progressed over my life as it is demonstrated more and more that justice is not available unless you have the money to buy it.

There are many more but those are just two.

I think it takes maturity for one. Many things I’ve changed my opinion on came with maturity. But also empathy and real life/personal experience can be huge factors in changing one’s mind. Say you are a believer that all prisoners should be treated poorly and not allowed to do this and that. Then you volunteer in a juvenile hall or your brother goes to jail. So you start becoming educated about the subject. Then your opinion changes. (As an example).

I didn’t think bears were very fast until I saw one run away.They can really get a move on.Seeing is believing.

@lucillelucillelucille hahhahah.i’m sorry.hahahha. that’s incredible.

I used to think that home-schooling your child was only done by radical religious people who want to completely isolate their children and that those children would possibly lack skills in socializing. I did a complete 180 after a couple things occurred. 1. A close relative explained to me how awful school was for her and she had wished she had had the option of home-school. 2. A friend’s sister was homeschooled in Jr. High because she had started to get into a lot of trouble (she was 1 of 5 children the only one who was home-schooled for a few years, the option was chosen simply for the specific situation). Since then I have known many people who were home-schooled and who have home-schooled their children and it just reinforces my decision that overall home schooling is a great option for many children.

For me to change my mind about something I need to be provided with information and it needs to be logical. Generally, I need to have a two-way conversation where I can ask questions, I can’t just be talked to, I need to feel my concerns have been addressed, and examples of positive results are better than just talking in theory.

It takes a combination of things, I think. A willingness to be educated. A sound logical argument presented respectfully. Or actual, physical observable evidence.

My religious and spiritual beliefs have changed more than once.

I used to be a Christian. It took almost 4 years of reasoning, personal research to a near self destructive level of obsession, and patient conversations with atheist friends to change my views.

I used to believe in an everlasting torment called hell although all evidence of a benevolent Creator contradicted this in my own life. Now I realize that love is all there is. All else is an illusion born of fear. Error is its own punishment.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir -*That’s *what I said!!lol!

So far I’ve wavered on trying new foods and I’m not religious anymore. I have a fast metabolism so I eventually was going to find more food to eat lol. And all I had to do to switch my beliefs about a god was simply grow up lol. I still don’t want kids, but I know that, as well as other things will only change as I get older.

For a long time, I was completely opposed to having children. Eventually, my clock started ticking and thus my mind changed. When I was a child, my mother was…let’s say intollerant of certain people. I developed a close friendship with a black girl and later found a best friend in a gay guy. Once my mom got to know these people, her opinions/acceptance changed. In fact, she calls my gay friend today just to chat. I think the old saying applies “We fear what we do not know.” Looking at things from a different perspective may change your opinion.

I think @avengerscion makes a good point that “we fear what we do not know.” I have found the people who are most open are the people who have contact with many different people and many different ideas.

Well, you know the old saying…

“Opinions are like assholes…
…everyone has one and most of them stink.”

I found this to be especially apropos when I reflected on the number of times I knew I was absolutely right, to discover some point later I’d been absolutely wrong.

So it really doesn’t take much to change my opinion on something. After all, it is just opinion. Besides, there comes to mind another saying I’m quite fond of…

…“The truth needs no defense.”

All it takes is to put your information in front of me, and tell me why you believe it. If you want to make a point, then make it, but don’t shove it down my throat. Give me what you’ve got, let me make comparisons and correlations to my current beliefs, be there for me when I have questions about your information, and I will decide for myself.

@SABOTEUR
All stink

I stand corrected.

Depends on if the opinion you’re attempting to change is affectively or cognitively based. Affective opinions are better changed with affective arguments, and cognitive ones with cognitive arguments.

The only major opinion shift I can recall myself having concerns abortion. I used to believe women should have the right to govern their own bodies (because who’s to tell a woman what to do with her own body?). I changed my mind once I learned that doctors had urged that my SO be aborted as a child. It hit really close to home. Now I’ve expanded my viewpoint to see that women are not only governing their own bodies, but are also governing what will eventually turn into someone else’s. Affective opinon, affective argument, change in opinion.

Many, many years ago, I wanted nothing to do with gay people… until I befriended one. He was a great guy and completely changed my limited understanding of the world.

There have been many times that I’ve had my opinions changed, though I can’t think of them. I was open to it, however, and I think most people are not. In fact, I go into most arguments reminding myself that most people don’t want to be convinced, they just want to say what they think or defend their position. It’s rare to find a person who allows their opinion to change.

@SeventhSense – I am so glad you have come to the realisation that hell is a myth, and contrary to the character of God.

For me to change my beliefs/opinions about God, someone would have to convince me that my personal experiences were me tripping on drugs. Many say that science and logic contradicts His existence, and I respect their right to believe that. However, He has revealed Himself to me, and it would take a lot for me to change my opinion about that.

What has changed for me is that I used to be a bigoted fundamentalist. My experiences while on a mission trip in India in 1996 certainly woke me up to how narrow-minded I was. I can now respect others beliefs, while not necessarily agreeing. I also know now that there are other ways to fulfilment than the one I have chosen. God is a lot bigger than the box I used to put Him in.

@Harold
God is a lot bigger than the box..
The abundance of similarities in cross cultural beliefs certainly testifies to this.

Fact from fiction, truth from diction. There have been several long-standing ideal or believes I have had in life that I have modified over they years. Two of sorts is what is really important in the woman you have and another was dating older women with kids.

When I was young I guess what I thought of as the quintessential came from magazines, TV, beer commercials etc. I thought she had to be some leggy blonde with a rack and long flowing mane of golden hair. She was the darling of Baywatch, the anchor of the Swedish Bikini Team, the tanned beauty of the Coppertone ads. But then I started to really look as I got older and wiser that brunettes were more exotic and mysterious looking, and on top of that she could be gorgeous to 100,000 men but if she had an attitude that was in the toilet I didn’t care to be around here and her stinkin’ thinkin’ was enough to nullify any beauty she had. A less than gorgeous girl with a hair of gold and an attitude to match made her over all 500,000 time more attractive them some magazine flawless girl with a pissy attitude.

When I was younger I never thought why guys always avoided women with children, I thought maybe they did not like children or did not want to be a parent having an instant family. I love kids myself. But then as I got older I started to experience the baggage that comes with a woman who has kids already, and the age of the kids play how heavy that baggage is. If the kids are real young and the father is dead or never to be in the picture again the load is the lightless (which is a scenario you hardly ever will get), if the father is still alive and close then you have him to deal with (an will be so long as he is close and alive). If the children are older and the father is out of the picture you might have a slim chance but you are for the most part still the interloper moving in on the bastion that was theirs and there mother’s. You have to be pretty good to get quickly vetted out by the kids. If the kids are older and the dad is still around that is the worse, especially if the dad is not a complete and total douche bag. You have the father still around stirring s***, and you are the roadblock that will make sure mom and dad never get back together. You are not their new father as much as you are mom’s new man, so when it comes to telling them what to do and how you have little clout. The best way avoid all that all together and steer clear of the gal with kids unless you have the best of all scenarios.

@Hypocrisy_Central
Fortunately that was a pretty quick lesson for me. Sayonara babe and kids don’t wait up for me ‘cause you’re right I’m not your father.

I use to believe that a small child could never do something that would make you want to kill them. Then I had my son. He had on one of those hard bottom booties for tots and when I asked him to wait a second as I washed the dishes, he kicked me in the back of my ankle at the tendon with all his might. The pain was so severe that, I actually saw stars. Truly, like in cartoons. I couldn’t look at him, so I called my neighbor to come get him and she did. I had a huge purple bruise on my ankle for weeks and walked with a limp for a while.

@Pandora
Good for you for having self control. That must have been rough.

@SeventhSense Yeah, despite the rotten little two year old he was,( Another time he got jealous of a friend and hit her with a plastic bat.) he turned out to be a fantastic young man. I’m grateful that I didn’t go with my gut reaction. I knew I would hurt him more than he could me. I had to keep saying out loud to myself that he is a baby, over and over and over again.