Maintaining social connection precedes exchanging accurate information in dialogue

Evidence

As was so well demonstrated by Daniel Bougnoux when he emphasized ‘the primacy of communication over information’, this emotional attention assures the maintenance of a fundamental connection between the participants in a dialogue, ‘the weaving of the bond, the prolongation of contact’, which are the preconditions for any exchange of argument. Before worrying about ‘information’ (true or false, pertinent or not), you must start by establishing, and above all maintaining, the connection which enables those in dialogue to stay on the same emotional wavelength. — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 254

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces Bougnoux’s ‘primacy of communication over information’ — a key conceptual framing for attention ecology theory.
• XREF: The distinction between care-for-the-connection and information-transfer maps onto the trust/reputation gap in impersonal markets from the earlier trade readings. — connects to: Dialogic interactions create open, critical, constructive spaces for negotiating differing ideas toward consensus — ‘Dialogic scaffolding’: Enhancing learning and understanding in collaborative contexts; Sociable conversation loses its character when it pursues objective truth — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 2253; Learning to trust another is learning their interest in continuing interaction — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 608 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Sociable conversation loses its character when it pursues objective truth #qualifies (0.75) — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 2253
• Others’ signaled openness governs whether one initiates talk #corroborates (0.75)
• Learning to trust another is learning their interest in continuing interaction #expands (0.72) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 608
• Beliefs gain validity from social endorsement and shared beliefs create social connection #corroborates (0.72) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2367