Institute for International Communication, St. John's University

Cristina Pérez-Cordón, Ph. D

El día que el desacuerdo salvó miles de vidas

La doctora inglesa Alice Steward (1906-2002) fue una de las científicas más influyentes del siglo XX. En los años cincuenta, comenzó a estudiar el aumento en los casos de cáncer dentro de la población infantil. Además de su interés en el tema como profesional de la medicina, tenía también una motivación personal, ya que su ahijada había muerto por leucemia algunos años atrás cuando tan solo tenía cinco años.

Imagen obtenida de https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/blog/alice-stewart-and-link-between-foetal-x-rays-and-childhood-cancer

La doctora Steward estaba particularmente interesada en saber si había una correlación directa entre el cáncer infantil y el uso de rayos X. El tema no era precisamente popular y no encontró muchos apoyos por parte de casi nadie. De hecho, recibió una beca prácticamente insignificante para poder llevar a cabo su investigación. Ella, sin embargo, lejos de abandonar, decidió armarla con un particular método de trabajo: le pidió al estadístico George Kneale que trabajara con ella y que, activamente, intentase buscar el desacuerdo, que pusiera en tela de juicio absolutamente todas sus conclusiones, que intentase por todos los medios desbaratar sus argumentos y demostrar que estaba equivocada. Kneale, además, era la persona ideal para hacer esto, ya que sus personalidades eran totalmente opuestas. Él era introvertido y ella sociable, cariñosa y empática. Él prefería los números y la soledad, ella a las personas y la compañía.

Y así es como estas dos personas tan radicalmente diferentes comenzaron a trabajar usando el método del desacuerdo, un modelo de trabajo colaborativo cuando menos valiente. Ella le pasaba sus datos, sus modelos, sus estadísticas, y él hacía todo lo posible por buscar errores que invalidaran sus conclusiones. ¿Por qué? Porque los dos estaban de acuerdo en que si Kneale era finalmente incapaz de probar que la doctora Steward estaba equivocada, eso le daría a ella la suficiente confianza como para saber que iba por el buen camino en sus investigaciones.

A través de este método fueron capaces de demostrar que, efectivamente, dentro del grupo de niños enfermos de cáncer que formaban parte de su estudio, la mitad de ellos tenía una cosa en común: a sus madres les habían hecho radiografías durante el embarazo. Esta importante conclusión se materializó en un artículo titulado ‘A survey of childhood malignancies’, publicado en 1958 en el prestigioso British Medical Journal.

La primera reacción a dicho artículo fue de escepticismo y de rechazo. En primer lugar, la máquina de rayos X, relativamente nueva aún, se presentaba como una diosa salvadora. Se utilizaba regularmente para ver la posición del feto en madres embarazadas, además de otros usos médicos como por ejemplo el tratamiento del acné. En segundo lugar, se estaba poniendo en tela de juicio la infalibilidad de los doctores y su buen hacer. Y en tercer lugar, todo esto lo estaba haciendo nada menos que una mujer. Esto provocó que la popularidad de Alice Steward cayera en picado: jamás volvería a recibir una beca y, poco a poco, fue dejada de lado por el resto de compañeros de profesión.

Lamentablemente, se siguieron haciendo radiografías a mujeres embarazadas: la industria médica estadounidense y británica no estaba dispuesta a aceptar ningún tipo de desacuerdo. De hecho, tardaron 25 años más en abandonar esta práctica.

La dificultad de aceptar el desacuerdo y los sesgos cognitivos

Todos los seres humanos, en mayor o menor grado, tenemos ciertos sesgos cognitivos. Un sesgo cognitivo es, explicado de forma muy simple, un prejuicio inconsciente que nos lleva a interpretar el mundo (lo que vemos, lo que escuchamos, lo que sentimos,…) de forma subjetiva y selectiva. Los sesgos cognitivos nos pueden llevar a juicios inexactos, a interpretaciones ilógicas o irracionales.

Uno de los experimentos más conocidos en este sentido es el “efecto Bouba-Kiki”. Fue detectado en 1929 por el psicólogo estonio Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967). En un experimento en Tenerife (España), el académico mostró esta imagen a un grupo de gente:

Imagen obtenida de https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesgo_cognitivo

A continuación, les preguntó cuál de estas figuras se llamaba “takete” y cuál “baluba”. La inmensa mayoría vinculó la forma puntiaguda con el nombre “takete”, y la forma redondeada con el nombre “baluba”. En el año 2001, el neurocientífico indio-estadounidense V. Ramachandran (1951) repitió el experimento usando los nombres “kiki” y “bouba”, obteniendo el mismo resultado: kiki para la forma puntiaguda y bouba para la forma redondeada. Llamar “bouba” a la forma redondeada podría sugerir que este sesgo nace de la forma que toma nuestra boca cuando pronunciamos la palabra, que es más redondeada, mientras que empleamos una pronunciación más tensa y angular  para el sonido “kiki”. Eso supuso una base experimental para comprender que el cerebro humano extrae propiedades en abstracto de formas y sonidos más allá de los vínculos aparentemente racionales.

Hay muchos tipos de sesgos cognitivos. Uno de los más conocidos y que mejor ayuda a entender el concepto es el “sesgo de confirmación”, que consiste en la tendencia a averiguar o dar más importancia a la información que confirma nuestras creencias. Esto es lo que sucede cuando, de manera automática, solo leemos los periódicos y vemos los canales de televisión que concuerdan con nuestras ideas.

Otro de los más conocidos es el “sesgo de falso consenso”, que consiste en la tendencia a creer que las propias opiniones, creencias, valores y hábitos están más extendidos entre las otras personas de lo que realmente lo están. En otras palabras, la tendencia a pensar que el resto de la gente comparte nuestras ideas, cuando en realidad, no necesariamente es así.

Otro ejemplo de sesgo cognitivo muy extendido es el “sesgo de deseabilidad social”, que consiste en decir lo socialmente aceptado en vez de expresar lo que verdaderamente opinamos. Generalmente nace de la necesidad de sentir la aprobación social, de querer caer bien a la gente, aunque a veces puede haber otros motivos (económicos, políticos, etc).

Si volvemos a la cuestión de las radiografías en las mujeres embarazadas, vemos que estos tres sesgos jugaron un papel clave a la hora de impedir esta práctica. Por un lado, la industria médica dio menos importancia a las averiguaciones de la doctora Steward porque no confirmaba sus creencias; por otro lado, dieron por hecho que el resto del colectivo médico compartía su postura; y, finalmente, no quisieron decir que ese nuevo invento que tanto adoraba la sociedad tenía efectos tan dañinos en los fetos, ya que no era lo que la gente quería oír.

Cómo vencer la dificultad del desacuerdo

Hay una tendencia generalizada a identificar el desacuerdo como algo negativo cuando, en realidad, debería ser nuestro mejor aliado. Parte del problema reside en que siempre nos han enseñado que debemos ser más asertivos, que tenemos que saber defender nuestras ideas y, si puede ser, evitar el conflicto. Sin embargo, esta postura plantea dos problemas de base. Por un lado, no permite a la persona desarrollar las herramientas necesarias para gestionar el desacuerdo y, por otro, desencadena un efecto condenatorio hacia el desacuerdo (“no me gusta que no opines como yo”).

El primer paso para subsanarlo comienza por comprender que el desacuerdo es algo sano, natural e inevitable. Es, de hecho, algo positivo si se sabe manejar correctamente. Precisamente, gracias al desacuerdo, la sociedad ha podido evolucionar, avanzar y mejorar en muchos aspectos. El segundo paso consiste en escuchar a la otra persona sin dar por hecho que no tiene razón, o que la tenemos nosotros. Si ambas partes son capaces de hacer esto, se estarán librando del llamado “sesgo de certeza” o la tendencia a mostrar un exceso de confianza en tus ideas, a creer que siempre tienes la razón. El tercer y último gran paso consiste en ser capaces de integrar el desacuerdo en la comunicación para construir el llamado “conflicto positivo”, y verlo como una oportunidad de diálogo más que como una amenaza. De este modo, el objetivo de la comunicación entre las personas en desacuerdo ya no será convencer al otro, sino buscar acuerdo, que es algo muy distinto.

Conclusión

La clave está en comprender que las personas no necesitan tener las mismas ideas, solo necesitan tener el mismo respeto (siempre y cuando, claro está, dichas ideas no atenten contra los derechos humanos). Todos tenemos sesgos, y todos tenemos puntos ciegos que nos hacen interpretar la realidad de manera diferente. Nuestras vivencias y nuestras circunstancias personales son el cristal de la ventana a través de la cual miramos. Esa ventana que nos resulta cómoda, que nos reafirma y nos reconforta. El día que nos atrevamos a mirar por esa otra ventana que otra persona diferente a nosotros nos muestra, ese día habremos iniciado el camino a la integración sana del desacuerdo como un elemento más de la comunicación, y comprenderemos que el desacuerdo no debilita tu postura sino que fortalece tu conocimiento así como la inteligencia colectiva.

Fuentes:

IG @Pictoline, publicación del 16 de junio y del 2 de julio

https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/blog/alice-stewart-and-link-between-foetal-x-rays-and-childhood-cancer

https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/alice-mary-stewart

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesgo_cognitivo

www.elciudadano.com

“Contributions of journalism for peacebuilding” was the central theme of the webinar How to communicate peace in the post-agreement, organized by the U. Manizales School of Communication and the Institute for International Communication, of St. John’s University. Listen here to an interview with the international speakers of this virtual space.

If you are interested in learning more about the contributions journalism can make to peacebuilding, find here the recording of the webinar held on November 6, 2020.

October 31, 2020 By: Nathalie Larin (Journalism Student)

NEW YORK – Five panelists from Europe and the United States discussed the increased polarization of political conversation, populism in the media, and journalists’ challenges in the current political and social climate during a virtual event on October 16, 2020. The global conference was co-hosted by St. John’s University’s Institute for International Communication (Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies) and the University of Vienna.

The speakers included Barbara Trionfi (Executive Director at International Press Institute, Vienna, Austria), Nana Walzer (Center for Applied Communication, Vienna, Austria), John M. Phelan (professor at Fordham University, NY), Kara S. Alaimo (professor at Hofstra University, NY), and Elisabeth Fondren (professor at St. John’s University, NY).

“This topic today could not be more timely,” said Interim CCPS Dean Glenn Gerstner in his opening remarks, referencing partisan print and broadcast campaigns and the pervasiveness of negative advertising across many media outlets.

“We live in an increasingly polarized world and political communication has become painfully coarse. With such a divided and polarized public, let’s try to unpack these issues,” said Basilio Monteiro, Chair, Division of Mass Communication and Director of the Institute for International Communication. The two-hour discussion was led by Minna Horowitz (Institute for International Communication) and Thomas Bauer (University of Vienna, Austria).

In their talks, panelists pointed out that social media and online filter bubbles have further polarized political opinions; that freedom of the press is under attack across the world including in democracies; that communicators, media educators, and individuals have an ethical and social responsibility to promote civility, and that propaganda continues to pose a threat to the truth content of information.

“Authenticity is key when it comes to credibility. It is the presentation of a message that convinces people,” Walzer explained in her typology of uncivilized behavior and dark or bright leadership styles. “People expect politicians to lie and at the same time they rely on their gut feeling as a source of trust.”

Panelists also suggested that the polarization of both content and form of political messages has created both national and international challenges for journalists.

“What we have seen through the COVID-19 crisis is a great weakening of press freedom around the world, from Europe to North America, Asia, and parts of Africa as well,” said Trionfi. “At the same time, we have seen a weakening of trust in the news media.” The ongoing global health pandemic, she stressed, has raised the stakes for journalists and the importance of accurate media coverage, since people’s lives depend on reliable and uncensored access to news.

Other speakers discussed the broader themes of civility and deception in public affairs, and the growing skepticism of official information, leaders or institutions on digital platforms. ”Expectation of behavior is what makes us behave and be civil,” said Phelan. He also cautioned that hate speech on social media should not go unchallenged by individual citizens, echoing Trifoni’s point about journalists exposing and fighting back against uncivil or undemocratic attacks against the press.

Media literacy and political education may be part of the solution, panelists agreed. “I think we have a responsibility to share knowledge about how citizens and the public can find a middle ground … this is why looking at different opinions, looking at international media, but keeping a clear focus on factual truths and facts is crucial,” Fondren said.

Scholar and journalist Alaimo spoke about political rhetoric, dogwhistling tactics and coded language that politicians use to discredit each other. In addition, she discussed that women – and in particular women of color – tend to be targeted by hate mail and online harassment on social media. “I am really worried that we can no longer have civil conversations,” she said.

More than 80 audience members from all over the world, including Vietnam, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Dubai, Jordan, the United States, U.K. and several other European countries participated in the event. Audience questions prompted a discussion about the opportunities and consequences of a global public sphere in light of increasing political polarization. In his closing remarks, Bauer proposed a ‘reason of responsibility’ that embraces humanist and social interpretations of communication rather than technological, economic, or profit-driven uses. “We have to widen the concept of political communication. It is a widespread sphere of everyday discourse related to topics, to themes, or to events of public or political interests,” he said.

Political communication, Bauer said, “is a source of sense and making sense.”

Please register at this link.

Alexis Torres ’09CPS, ’11GCPS has many responsibilities as Chief of Staff at the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), a New York State public benefit corporation that maintains, programs, and manages 92 acres of land and 36 acres of pristine public parkland in downtown Manhattan—but she handles them with aplomb by never forgetting the lessons she learned while a student at St. John’s. 

“After more than a decade of work in state and local government, I am grateful to St. John’s for preparing me to take on the real world and dedicate my career to public service,” she said.

Ms. Torres earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations and a Master of Science degree in International Communication from the College of Professional Studies (now called The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies). She is thankful for the education she received from the professors in the Division of Mass Communication, including Basilio G. Monteiro, Ph.D., and John DiMarco, Jr., Ph.D. 

“Alexis stood out not only as a smart and hardworking student, but as a gracious person with a contagious smile,” said Dr. Monteiro. “She always cared for others; she was known among her classmates as someone they could always rely on for anything. She is a problem-solver without drawing attention to herself.”

During her college years, Ms. Torres also had the opportunity to apply the skills she learned in the classroom by interning at the Queens County District Attorney’s public information office, where she compiled press clippings for the late Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, and at Rubenstein Strategic Communications, where she helped organize media for the Tribeca Film Festival.

At St. John’s, Ms. Torres was a member of the Public Relations Club and a host of a show on WRED-TV, the campus television station. She also was a student worker for St. John’s Office of Conference Services and at the TV studio. 

“My first job was at St. John’s and I am forever grateful,” she said. “I attribute my work ethic and leadership skills to all of the mentors who guided me during my time there.”

As Chief of Staff at BPCA, Ms. Torres helps manage the day-to-day operations and oversees implementation of a variety of special projects and events. This includes the planning of public events for the authority’s annual Earth Day and Climate Week celebrations, which—given its role as an environmental sustainability leader—are important dates on the BPCA calendar. 

Most recently, she has been managing and coordinating, along with New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s office, the construction of new memorials to Mother Cabrini and to the victims and survivors of Hurricane Maria that devastated Dominica, St. Croix, and Puerto Rico in September of 2017. Both memorials will be located in Battery Park City.

Ms. Torres began her career at the City of New York’s Business Integrity Commission (BIC) during the administration of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. There she worked to help eliminate organized crime and other forms of corruption from the public wholesale markets, trade waste, and shipboard gambling industries. While at BIC, she received a mayoral award for excellence in customer service and became a certified Spanish translator and interpreter for the City of New York Language Access Plan.

ICM students presenting at ACUNS conference, Coventry University, UK, June 25-27, 2020 – Virtual Conference

James Wheatley, Sara Rabelo-Tacher, Quiana Criales, Natalie Affenita, Hope A. DeVito, Basilio G. Monteiro

Covid-19 have exposed the deep flaws of the structures of all aspects of global society, and now, like all pandemics before, it offers us opportunities to imagine a new world that is more equitable and content. The younger generation impacted by this pandemic will not allow the world to go as usual. Globalization has been a convenient camouflage to lull us into feeling that prosperity is upon us… In fact, it was and is “helicopter-globalization” – which benefited only those with good tele-connectivity and tele-port, regardless of geographical location.

The inevitable challenges of climate change and its disruptive consequences are upon us. Any deliberations about economy, geopolitical relationships without taking into account climate change will be an exercise in futility.

Our students’ presentations are framed in the context of mini-multilateralism, with focus on regional supply chain, while keeping loose connections with larger globalization as demanded. The trust in economy has collapsed. Trust, is a human virtue, and cannot be managed by sophisticated protocols, checks and balances, cannot be technologized. Trust is nurtured in frequent close human proximities, which nurtures familiarity (unrelated to business gatherings).

Parag Khanna in his book Connectography: Maping the Future of Global Civilization states that Connectivity is destiny – and the most connected powers, and people, will win. Climate change is going to change some of that connectography. When he wrote his book, he did not anticipate the COVOD-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, there is a foresight in this thinking and worth paying attention to. He believes there are two main megatrends shaping the world we live in today: urbanization and connectivity, and the precarious of both this pandemic has exacerbated. And, together, they dictate human behavior every bit as much as – maybe even more than – any other force or factor we’ve seen previously.

Connectivity really comes down to the enablement of supply chains, both physical and digital, which are now the conduits of our economies. What we have seen is that – in a very uncoordinated, unsynchronized yet simultaneous decision-making process – billions of people are gravitating toward infrastructure and the supply chains they enable. (https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2018/06/connectography.html).

Here, in our panel we are advocating for regional supply chain, which will have inevitable impact on mitigating economic inequality as corporations need not go around the world foraging for inhumanly cheap labor; regional supply chain with improved regional transportation  modalities will mitigate carbon emissions, and will de-urbanize our glass-cities which increasingly are becoming, given its high density population, incubators for all kinds of epidemics.

We advocate for re-thinking the tourism industry, which is driven by neo-liberal economic impulses and has created sustainability disasters in most part of the planet earth.

The post-pandemic world will grapple with some fundamental questions: Who are we, and how do we relate to each other? Luciano Floridi, one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy, argues that the explosive developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is changing the answer to these fundamental human questions. As the boundaries between life online and offline break down, and we become seamlessly connected to each other and surrounded by smart, responsive objects, we are all becoming integrated into an “infosphere”. Personas we adopt in social media, for example, feed into our ‘real’ lives so that we begin to live, as Floridi puts in, “onlife”. This metaphysical shift represents nothing less than a “fourth revolution.”

The pandemic and post pandemic living as brought us to the realization that “onlife” defines more and more of our daily activity – the way we shop, work, learn, care for our health, entertain ourselves, conduct our relationships; the way we interact with the worlds of law, finance, and politics; even the way we conduct war. In every department of life, ICTs have become environmental forces which are creating and transforming our realities.

Economist E. F. Schumacher in 1970s, who was an important voice then at the United Nations, advocated an economic model of Small is Beautiful as if People Mattered. May be in this pandemic it is time to dust off his little but perceptive book. He advocated for the end of the excessive consumption, inspired movements such as “buy locally,” Fair Trade, and strongly opposed casino capitalism.

The presentations of the students in this panel are located in this framework. They are the “generation now” thinking radically and eager to grab the opportunity painfully unfolded by COVID-19 and seeking to shape a better world for themselves and the generations to come.

James Wheatley

in his presentation on hyperloop and the future of travel made a compelling case for regional supply chain, without compromising global alliances, as a way to address climate change, income inequality, de-urbanization and particularly to nurture the trust essential in any economic activity. He highlighted the evolving new modes of transportation, particularly the Hyperloop experiment in the Netherlands, to underscore the feasibility of regional supply chain.

Sara Rabelo-Tacher

examined COVID-19 trajectory and argued that in times of global crises, nations must prioritize communication and collaboration in order to overcome the issues together. She paid significant attention to the issues of national pride and the position of countries in the hierarchy of geopolitics, which compels the nations to control the information about the pandemics and thus fudge the essential information in detriment to global community.

Quiana Criales

examined the complex dangers of technology in the post-COVID-19 era. She examined the dangers of a complex system of ICT, threats to national economic system, national security, civility, and call for simplicity. She argued that the multilateral dependency can be fatal in pandemic times as she pointed out that given the accelerated climate change, the frequency of pandemics will be in short cycles. Her analysis of technology capitalism highlighted how the monopolies are significant threats to national security. She underscored that public services and essential resources, specifically within technology sector have become privatized commodities.

Natalie Affenita

in her presentation on Travelers and NOT Tourism she argued that post-COVID-19 world must be different for the sake of the health of the planet earth and it is inhabitants. The global pause imposed by COVID on human movement rejuvenated the environment at the pleasant surprise and satisfaction of all. She clearly distinguished between a traveler, who seeks to know and learn the people and places, versus a tourist, who seeks enjoyment by doing and seeing things packaged by the tourist agents for a given price, without regard for local culture and history. She anticipates the younger generation will develop a wholesome attitude to travel and safeguard the rapidly deteriorating environment.

Hope DeVito

as a vibrant member of “generation now” examined the prospects of Globalization post COVID-19, which led to some poignant questions for further study: what will the global stage look like after this? Will the countries with long standing power find themselves on the backburner while the middle or smaller power countries bounce back faster from the pandemic? How will globalization change? Will it become more digital with knowledge-based economy? Will the easy flow of travel, resources, etc. be the same? How will the rise of new generation affect power and the economy will be seen?

Basilio G. Monteiro

by Cristina Pérez-Cordón, Ph. D

De todos es conocida la frase “las palabras se las lleva el viento”, pero nada hay más lejos de la realidad. Hay frases que han cambiado el rumbo de la historia, como la célebre I have a dream (tengo un sueño), pronunciada por el activista Martin Luther King (1929-1968)  en agosto del 63 al terminar la manifestación de Washington por el trabajo y la libertad. Otras han sido el eje de una forma de vida, como la frase “sé el cambio que quieres ver en el mundo” del abogado, político y pensador indio Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). Algunas son una poderosa forma de motivación, como el famoso No pain no gain (sin esfuerzo no hay resultados) que acuñó Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) y popularizó Jane Fonda (1937-) en sus ejercicios aeróbicos en los 80, aunque en realidad el concepto aparece expresado con otras palabras ya en textos de la antigüedad. Parece claro, pues, que las palabras permanecen con todo su peso, e impregnan el ambiente, causando un efecto de mayor o menor dimensión en aquellos que las reciben.

Continue reading “Lo que el viento no se llevó” →

ICM Alumni from around the world reflect on their studies and present their journey after completing the degree.

Continue reading “ICM Alumni Highlight” →

By Basilio G. Monteiro

Words are force to reckon with. They have the capacity to help, heal, hinder, harm, humiliate… Contrary to the adage sticks and stones may break my bones; but words will never break me, words tear one apart as Neil Harmon of the Divine Comedy band rhapsodized in 2004.

Continue reading “The words we use… Is coronavirus our enemy?” →

The Institute for International Communication owe its existence to Dean Katia Passerini, who gave an enthusiastic support to this idea, which was languishing for about 5 years prior to her arrival at St. John’s University. Dean Passerini saw the value in the Institute that would promote interdisciplinary dialogue through intellectual work beyond the curriculum and by international exchange of ideas through academic activities, and engaging scholars and industry practitioners.

Continue reading “Grazie Mille, Dean Passerini …” →

By  Cristina Perez Cordon

Seguro que en las últimas semanas has visto imágenes similares a estas circulando por las redes sociales. Son ilustraciones de personal sanitario que muestra su lado más valiente en la lucha contra la COVID-19 y su lado más humano para paliar la angustia de aquellos que la sufren. ¿Sabías que hay una explicación a las mismas en una obra del siglo IV antes de Cristo? Si como yo, tienes curiosidad por saber cuál es, te invito a que sigas leyendo.

Continue reading “Diálogo de una lingüista y una pandemia” →