How Minds Change

How does an entire nation go from obsessive witch hunts to sewing witch costumes for their children? How did Australia go from being a nation of gun lovers to campaigning around the world for stricter gun control? How are climate scientists tackling the conspiracy theorists after years of stubborn denial?

Contrary to what most people think, we are all willing to trade our beliefs for better ones under the right conditions.We are used to thinking of progress as a long arc, taking place over generations. But if you know how, change can be accelerated more rapidly than ever thought possible.

The latest research reveals that changing people's beliefs isn't random, but that there are psychological forces at work that can line up to cause a surge, a quickening. And any person can understand, harness, and put to work those forces to change minds for the better - even their own.