Fresh approaches needed to tackle political 'age of rage', US study suggests
5 hours ago
- #social psychology
- #partisan animosity
- #political polarization
- Efforts to reduce hostility between rival political parties have small effects that largely disappear within two weeks.
- Interventions like correcting misperceptions or enabling contact between opponents show modest increases in warmth towards opposing parties (5.4 points on a 101-point scale).
- About 75% of the reduction in animosity is lost after a week, with almost all effects gone within two weeks.
- Exposing people to multiple interventions simultaneously or repeatedly does not significantly boost reductions in partisan animosity.
- Long-term solutions may require changing incentives for political and media elites to stop fueling partisan conflict.
- Grassroots approaches, like individual conversations across party lines, remain valuable for enacting change.