8/27/2023 0 Comments Animosity def![]() “(I)n the current political climate, public discourse norms encourage hostility and animosity,” the authors observe. “Political moderates and those who are less polarized…are most likely to opt out of uncomfortable political conversations.” However, some studies have shown that “preparing people for constructive engagement not only made conversations more productive and enjoyable but also increased positive perceptions of political opponents,” they add.Ĭhanging Public Discourse and Transforming Political Structures “Most people fear talking about politics, so they either avoid these conversations or have them online, where they can caricature and mock those on the other side,” the authors write. Debunking these misperceptions can reduce animosity. For example, Republicans and Democrats overestimate the extent to which the other side demonizes them by anywhere from 50 percent to 300 percent. The researchers acknowledge that correcting misconceptions “is challenging in many areas,” such as in debunking online misinformation and conspiracy theories, but also describe some interventions that have promise. Through this analysis, they were able to gain a greater understanding of what interventions are likely to be successful in lowering the partisan temperature that has come to define public life in the U.S.Ĭorrecting Misconceptions and Highlighting Commonalities ![]() In an effort to identify potential ways to reduce partisan animosity, the researchers considered studies that focused on illuminating its nature and experiments aimed at diminishing it. political landscape for centuries, “(g)rowing shares in each party now describe those in the other party as more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral, and unintelligent than other Americans,” the Pew Research Center reported in August. While partisan polarization has been a part of the U.S. ![]() “Although most studies for reducing partisan animosity focus on the United States, recent research also suggests that interventions developed to address American polarization can be highly effective for reducing partisan animosity in other countries,” notes co-author Jay Van Bavel, a professor in New York University’s Department of Psychology and co-author of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. The researchers add that the work is potentially applicable to other countries, which are also experiencing “the onset of pernicious polarization,” according to a January 2022 study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Reducing partisan animosity is surely a challenge, but this work shows that successful interventions can help partisans gain more accurate perceptions of each other and recognize the similarities they share,” adds Rachel Hartman, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the paper’s lead author. “No single strategy is likely to reduce polarization for every audience and every issue, so our analysis points to ways we can take targeted approaches to address different groups and circumstances,” says Kurt Gray, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of the authors of the paper.
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