MORE Scots will be persuaded to join the indepedence movement if it replaces facts with emotive storytelling, a leading academic has claimed. 

Iain Black, professor of marketing at Stirling University, urged nationalists to adopt the tactics of the advertising industry which “mostly stopped using facts to persuade people 20 years ago”.

Thoughtful, analytical and rational thinking is “hard, takes lots of energy, and often leads to confusion”, according to Professor Black, convener of the Scottish Independence Convention. 

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Nationalists must instead use “more stories, less facts” and “feel good” messages, Professor Black said, who is also on the board of Common Weal, a left-wing think tank.

Writing in The Herald's sister title The National, Professor Black welcomed recent polls showing support for independence at 54 per cent, but said to secure independence it must rise beyond 60 per cent.

He urged the SNP to give up trying to convince Boris Johnson to grant them a second referendum and move to an undefined “Plan B and beyond”.

He wrote: “I’ve spent 25 years as an academic or in jobs requiring me to persuade people to do things they (mostly) wanted to do. I have read countless academic articles examining how to influence human behaviour. I’ve done my fair share of research seeking to understand how to persuade consumers.

"As we consider what we can do better, I’d like to talk about the strong evidence that says statistics and “facts” are not the best form of information to use when we want people to change their mind.

"Changing minds is hard for many reasons, so let’s make sure we use the type of evidence most likely to be successful.

"When someone’s mind is made up, it literally means billions of connections holding information in specific structures relating to those beliefs have been created.

"Changing people’s minds is therefore not just a philosophical process, literal rewiring is needed. Brains have “synaptic plasticity” meaning changes can be made, but that’s hard and when it comes to hard work, our brains would rather avoid that."

Professor Black said humans have two distinct thought processes, which trigger an analytical or an emotional response.

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Under system two, he wrote, Yes supporters would be inclined to think “if people would look at the facts rationally, they would conclude Scotland should become independent”.

But, he added: “Information [that] is processed thoughtfully, analytically and rationally [is] hard, takes lots of energy, often leads to confusion and it is prone to hundreds of biases.”

He said that campaigns which trigger an emotional response were more likely to be successful “because it takes less effort and the outcome often feels good as neurotransmitters such as dopamine are released”.

The Herald: Pamela Nash, of Scotland in Union, blasted Professor Black's theory Pamela Nash, of Scotland in Union, blasted Professor Black's theory

Professor Black added: “That’s what the modern persuasion industry prefers to do. It tries to swamp your brains with sensual pictures, movement and alluring sounds. The modern marketing industry mostly stopped using facts to persuade people 20 years ago.

“To help people change their minds, we need to provide the information in a form they prefer and can easily understand.”

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “It’s little wonder that nationalists want to replace facts with storytelling.

"That’s because the facts are clear: being part of the UK has saved hundreds of thousands of jobs during the coronavirus crisis." 

Read Professor Black's full column here.