Ordinary Knowing and Policy Science

Abstract

This article addresses the interaction between ordinary knowing and policy science knowledge and the implications of this interaction for knowledge utilization. The role of ordinary knowing is assessed from two perspectives. First, the significance of evolu tionary epistemologies is discussed. Second, communication and persuasion theory as they are related to ordinary knowledge are explicated. The implications of these two perspectives are then assessed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bozeman, B. (1984) "Policy sciences and credibility: renewing the search for a rational base." Presented at the national conference of the American Society for Public Administration, Denver, April 15.

Braskamp, L.A. , R.D. Brown , and D.L. Newman (1978) "Credibility of a local educational program evaluation report: another source and client characteristics." Amer. Educ. Research J. 15, 3: 441-450.

Brock, T.C. (1967) "Communication discrepancy and intent to persuade as determinants of counterargument production." J. of Experimental Social Psychology 3: 296-309.

Cacioppo, J.T. and R.E. Petty (1979) "Effects of message repetition and position on cognitive responses, recall, and persuasion." J. of Personality and Social Psychology 37: 97-109.

Campbell, D. (1974) "Evolutionary epistemology," pp. 413-463 in P. A. Schipp (ed.) The Philosophy of Karl Popper (Vol. 14-I). LaSalle, IL: Open Court Publishing.

Caplan, N. (1975) "The use of social science knowledge in policy decisions at the national level." Institute for Social Research.

Cook, T.D. (1969) "Competence, counterarguing, and attitude change ." J. of Personality 37: 342-358.

---and D.T. Campbell (1979) Quasi-Experimentation. Chicago : Rand McNally.

Cialdini, R. , A. Levy , P. Herman , L. Kozlowski , and R. Petty (1976) "Elastic shifts in opinion: determinants of direction and durability." J. of Personality and Social Psychology 34: 663-672.

10.

Greenwald, A.G. (1968) "Cognitive learning, cognitive response to persuasion and attitude change," in A. G. Greenwald et al. (eds.) Psychological Foundations of Attitudes . New York: Academic Press.

11.

Hawkins, J.D. , R.A. Roffman , and P. Osborne (1978) "Decision makers' judgments: the influence of role evaluative criteria and information access." Evaluation Q. 2, 3: 435-455.

12.

Heider, F. (1944) "Social perception and phenomenal causality." Psych. Rev. 51: 358-377.

13.

Lindblom, C.E. and D.K. Cohen (1979) Usable Knowledge. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.

14.

Michotte, A. (1963) The Perception of Causality. New York: Basic Books.

15.

Newman, D.L. , R.D. Brown , and L.A. Braskamp (1980) "Communication theory and the utilization of evaluation," in S. A. Braskamp and R. D. Brown (eds.) Utilization of Evaluation Information: Number 5, New Direction for Program Evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

16.

Perloff, R.M. and T.C. Brock (1980) "And thinking makes it so," in M. E. Roloff and G. R. Miller (eds.) Persuasion: New Direction in Theory and Research . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

17.

Petty, R.E. (1981) "The role of cognitive responses in attitude change processes," in R. E. Petty et al. (eds.) Cognitive Responses in Persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence J. Erlbaum.

18.

———( 1977) "A cognitive response analysis of the temporal persistence of attitude changes and persuasibility." Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University. (unpublished)

19.

——— T. M. Ostrom , and T. C. Brock [eds.] (1981) Cognitive Responses in Persuasion . Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence J. Erlbaum .

20.

Popper, K.R. , (1966) Of Clouds and Clocks: An Approach to the Problem of Rationality and the Freedom of Man. St. Louis, MO: Washington Univ. Press.

21.

———( 1963) Conjectures and Refutations. London : Routledge & Kegan Paul.

22.

Roberts, D.F. and N. MacCoby (1973) "Information processing and persuasion: counterarguing behavior," in P. Clarke (ed.) New Models for Communication Research. Beverly Hills, CA : Sage.

23.

Rothman, J. (1980) Using Research in Organizations. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

24.

Scott, R. and A. Shore (1979) Why Sociology Does Not Apply. New York: Elsevier.

25.

Wells, G.L. and T.C. Brock (1976) "Distraction can enhance or reduce yielding to propaganda: thought disruption versus effort justification." J. of Personality and Social Psychology 34: 874-884.

26.

Wildavsky, A. (1979) Speaking Truth to Power: The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis. Boston: Little, Brown .