Reducing political polarization through narrative writing

ABSTRACT

This study proposes two complementary writing activities designed to reduce affective polarization and malevolent outgroup attributions. The strategies draw on narrative theorizing and intergroup contact theory. Our intervention is low cost and can be effectively administrated in educational settings to combat the deleterious effects of political polarization. In this four-group between-subjects randomized experiment (n?=?179), we found that a first-person perspective taking narrative writing exercise and a common ingroup cooperative narrative writing exercise both reduced political polarization and, thereby, reduced malevolent outgroup attributions. Our results revealed that both activities improved affect toward and perceived similarity with a noxious member of the political outgroup and, as a result, reduced affective political polarization. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of our findings and encourage educators to adopt activities modeled after our interventions in their classrooms.     

A Social Cognitive Theory Approach to the Effects of Mediated Intergroup Contact on Intergroup Attitudes

This research applies a social cognitive theory perspective to the study of mediated intergroup contact. It was hypothesized that exposure to positive intergroup contact on television would be associated with more positive intergroup attitudes. Some support for this hypothesis was found for exposure to gay-straight and Black-White interactions. It was also hypothesized that identification with a character belonging to the viewer's ingroup and perceived typicality of a character from an outgroup would be associated with more positive intergroup attitudes. Some support for these hypotheses emerged with regard to associations between exposure to televised gay-straight interactions and homophobic attitudes.     

Stereotype reduction through humor and accommodation during imagined communication with older adults

Ageism can generate conflict and harm well-being. Our paper integrates the Aging Stereotypes in Interaction model with intergroup contact theory to predict how communicative elements mediate the effect of intergenerational contact on warmth and competence stereotypes of older adults as a group. Students (N?=?288) were randomly assigned to imagine having a conversation with an older adult in one of six experimentally manipulated contact conditions: a competent/incompetent older woman, a sociable/unsociable older woman, or a moral/immoral older woman. Participants’ stereotypes of older adults were affected by the characteristics of their communication partner, and this effect was mediated by specific communication behaviors imagined by the participant for two of the three trait dimensions. For perceptions of competence, overaccommodation was the key mediator. For perceptions of sociability, the key mediator was humorous communication. These mediators represent an expansion in how we understand not just the outcomes of intergroup contact, but also the communicative mechanisms through which it occurs.     

The roles of ingroup identification and implicit bias in assessing the effectiveness of an online diversity education program

ABSTRACT

Diversity education is increasingly recognized as important to the health of a university, however, little empirical work has examined the intergroup processes at play and the effectiveness of online diversity education on college students. This research utilized a repeated-measures mixed factorial design to examine the implicit and explicit effects of online diversity education delivered at a large public university during the course of a semester. The study design was informed by intergroup contact, social identity, and computer-mediated communication research. Findings contribute to theorizing about intergroup processes in the reception of and learning from diversity education and point to practical avenues for employing online diversity education in higher education. Recommendations are made for practitioners interested in designing and delivering diversity training online in an interactive learning environment.     

Digitally Savvy Citizenship: The Role of Internet Skills and Engagement in Young Adults' Political Participation around the 2008 Presidential Election

Popular narratives assume that digital media play a central role mobilizing voters and especially young adults. Based on unique survey data of a diverse group or young adults from Spring, 2009, we consider the relationship between differentiated internet uses, and online and offline political engagement around the time of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Thanks to our rich data set, we are able to consider both online and offline activities while taking into consideration more traditional measures. Our findings suggest that online forms of political engagement complement offline engagement. The pathways to young adults' political participation remain relatively stable. We also find an association between Internet skills, social network site usage and greater levels of engagement. These findings imply that although Internet usage alone is unlikely to transform existing patterns in political participation radically, it may facilitate the creation of new pathways for engagement.     

Communication,Relationships, and Religious Difference in the Northern Ireland Workplace: A Study of Private and Public Sector Organizations

Four large organizations, two each from the private and public sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, were selected for this study which, first, explored the effects of religion-based workforce difference on intergroup relationships, second, investigated the contribution of organizational sector to communicative differences, and third, gauged the effects of group-based negativity on the flow and distribution of functional information within the organization. Little evidence of intergroup conflict was found although employees expressed a desire for greater quantity and quality of outgroup contact. Significant differences between the private and public bodies emerged in this respect. Contrasts were consistent with general organizational differences typifying the sectors. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity management and the characteristics of organizational sectors.     

Communication, Relationships, and Religious Difference in the Northern Ireland Workplace: A Study of Private and Public Sector Organizations

Four large organizations, two each from the private and public sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, were selected for this study which, first, explored the effects of religion-based workforce difference on intergroup relationships, second, investigated the contribution of organizational sector to communicative differences, and third, gauged the effects of group-based negativity on the flow and distribution of functional information within the organization. Little evidence of intergroup conflict was found although employees expressed a desire for greater quantity and quality of outgroup contact. Significant differences between the private and public bodies emerged in this respect. Contrasts were consistent with general organizational differences typifying the sectors. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity management and the characteristics of organizational sectors.     

When Talking Differences Makes Us Closer: Communicative Dynamics of Group Salience in Intergroup Contact

Group salience, although a key variable in generalizing contact effects toward the target out-group, often negatively affects the quality of intergroup contact. Countering this pessimistic view, we investigated whether or not communicatively-induced group salience could yield positive contact effects by inducing prosocial intergroup emotions and by increasing relational closeness with the out-group interactant in the context of cross-group friendships. A survey conducted with MTurk participants (N = 331) revealed that communicating group-related topics within intergroup friendships increased prosocial intergroup emotions, which was further predictive of relational closeness and intergroup prejudice. However, relational closeness showed no evidence of mediating the effect of prosocial emotions on intergroup prejudice. The results contribute to intergroup scholarship in expanding the discussion of the influence of communicative dimensions of salience on intergroup relations.     

Media Multitasking,Second Screening,and Political Knowledge: Task-Relevant and Task-Irrelevant Second Screening during Election News Consumption

This study tests the role of second screening during election news consumption in factual political knowledge. Data from an online survey conducted before the 2016 U.S. presidential election show that task-irrelevant second screening during election news consumption on television is negatively related to factual political knowledge, whereas the influence of task-relevant second screening is positive. Data also show that the relationships between task-relevant and task-irrelevant second screening and factual political knowledge are moderated by how much attention one pays to election news on television.     

Mediated Intergroup Contact: Concept Explication,Synthesis, and Application

This article had an overarching goal of paving a foundation for the scholarship on intergroup contact in the field of media research. This goal was approached from three different directions: concept explication, synthesis, and application. First, selective reviews of literature on intergroup contact research and media effects research were conducted to identify a term that can best represent existing terminology on intergroup contact via media consumption and elaborate on its definition. A synthesis of intergroup contact literature and existing studies of mediated intergroup contact revealed potential moderators and mediators of mediated contact effect. Last, current practices of media production and consumption in the United States were analyzed through the lens of intergroup contact to provide an assessment of the current state of mediated contact. Based on these reviews and syntheses, suggestions for future research and practice were made.     

Is the Confirmation Bias Bubble Larger Online? Pre-Election Confirmation Bias in Selective Exposure to Online versus Print Political Information

The Internet era has often been blamed for a predominant engagement with attitude-consistent information among citizens (labeled confirmation bias), which is thought to hurt political deliberation. This study offers the first rigorous evidence suggesting that online news fosters greater confirmation bias than traditional media. A 2 × 2 within-subjects experiment presented political articles, varying stance (conservative vs. liberal) and medium (online vs. print); selective exposure was logged or taped. Data were collected during the U.S. 2016 presidential primaries. As expected in the preelection context, partisans whose party was anticipated to lose the election (conservatives) did not exhibit confirmation bias. Liberals showed confirmation bias, but only online, suggesting print contexts reduce confirmation bias.     

Mother Goose and Mother Nature: Designing Stories to Communicate Information About Climate Change

Narratives have the ability to highlight climate change information in a relatable and engaging format. The purpose of the present investigation was to test the effects of five story structure types containing climate change information on perceived message effectiveness. Furthermore, we measured whether political affiliation moderated persuasive effectiveness of climate change messages among U.S. eligible voting adults (N = 594) who identified as Republican, Democrat, and Independent. The highest rated story overall was situated in the past, was realistic, and had clear moral values, indicating that certain appealing stories can serve as effective conduits for persuasive messages across the political spectrum. There were few differences between political affiliations, namely, that Democrats and Republicans rated messages differently on effectiveness when they differed on moral themes.     

Determinants of Defense in Presidential Debates

This study investigates the relationship between attacks and defenses in political debates. Being the target of an attack provides a candidate with opportunity and motivation to defend; hence, the frequency of attacks directed toward a candidate should be directly related to the number of defenses produced by that candidate. This study employs four data sets to test this expectation: 23 U.S. general presidential debates, 59 U.S. presidential primary debates, 12 U.S. Senate debates, and 10 non-U.S. debates (France, Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine). Statistical analysis confirms that there is a significant positive relationship between number of attacks aimed at a candidate and the number of defenses employed by that candidate in all four samples of political campaign debates. Arguably, this form of direct clash between candidates could be particularly beneficial to voters as it provides a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of governmental policy and related issues.     

Adaptive governance,status quo bias,and political competition: Why the sharing economy is welcome in some cities but not in others

Examining the variation in policies across 47 U.S. cities, we show that political competition has a significant effect on governments' regulatory responses to the sharing economy. Specifically, a greater level of political competition is associated with a more favorable regulatory response for sharing companies such as Airbnb. This finding is explained using the concepts of governmental status quo bias and adaptive governance. When considering the interests of the public and market incumbents, governments generally favor the latter (i.e., the status quo). This is because single-industry economic interests can more easily be organized into interest groups that can influence policymaking through lobbying. However, a greater level of political competition was found to reduce the power of entrenched market incumbents. This finding provides broad support to the hypothesis that the promotion of political accountability through greater political competition is conducive to adaptive governance.     

Political Participation and Ideological News Online: “Differential Gains” and “Differential Losses” in a Presidential Election Cycle

Observations of the contemporary news media environment often revolve around the topics of ideological polarization and blurred boundaries between mass and interpersonal communication. This study explores these topics through a focus on the association between ideologically oriented online news use, commenting on online news, and political participation. We hypothesize that both ideological online news use generally and proattitudinal online news use are positively related to political participation and that online news commenting creates “differential gains” by augmenting these relationships. Yet we also hypothesize that counterattitudinal online news use is negatively related to political participation and that online news commenting creates “differential losses” by exacerbating this relationship. Analyses of two independently collected and nationally representative surveys found that frequent ideological online news use, proattitudinal online news use, and commenting are all positively related to political participation. We found no evidence for differential gains as a result of online commenting but only for differential losses—counterattitudinal online news use interacts with commenting to create a negative relationship with political participation.     

US host nationals' attitudes toward Japanese: the role of communication and relational solidarity in the intergroup contact hypothesis

Guided by the intergroup contact hypothesis and intergroup contact theory, the authors examined US Americans' (N=403) communication experiences and relational solidarity with their most frequent Japanese contact and associations with their attitudes toward Japanese as a cultural group. Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) results showed that both communication frequency and quality had an indirect effect through relational solidarity on affective, behavioral, and cognitive attitudes, demonstrating the critical mediating role of relational solidarity. Results also revealed that communication quality was positively and directly associated with the attitudinal measures. Implications of the findings are discussed with respect to prior literature on relational communication in intergroup and intercultural contexts.     

Social Media and Online Political Communication: The Role of Interpersonal Informational Trust and Openness

This study examines relationships among interpersonal informational trust and openness with Internet-based political activities and attitudes. Conceptually, it proposes the categorization of online spaces and activities as consumption or interaction types, and classifies interpersonal informational trust within inner and outer circles. Interpersonal informational trust was found to be positively associated with perception of online activities as political participation. It also was associated with use of all types of online media for purposes of political communication, but mostly with online spaces that require interaction with others. Interpersonal political openness showed positive association with the use of interactive-type Web sites for purposes of political communication.     

Online political participation,online contacts with out-groups members and social distances

In light of the growing role of social media in conflict management, the current study analyzes the interrelationship of online political participation of Israeli Jews, the frequency of their online contacts with Arabs, and Jews’ perceived social distances from Arabs. The research was conducted through an online survey of a representative sample of 458 Israeli Jews who use the social media at least 3 times a week. Overall, although causation cannot be inferred because of the correlational design of our study, results suggest that frequency of online contacts may positively affect closeness to Arabs in line with contact theory. In keeping with the socialization perspective of political engagement, the findings indicate that the impact of online political participation on social distances from Arabs was mediated by interactions between Jews and Arabs in the social media.     

Intermedia Agenda-Setting and Political Activism: MoveOn.org and the 2008 Presidential Election

This study tested for intermedia agenda-setting effects among explicitly partisan news media coverage and political activist group, citizen activist, and official campaign advertisements on YouTube—all in support of the same candidate. The setting for this investigation was the political activist organization MoveOn.org's “Obama in 30 Seconds” online ad contest, which was held during the 2008 U.S. presidential election primaries. The data provided evidence of first- and second-level agenda-setting relationships. Partial correlations revealed that the citizen activist issue agenda, as articulated in the contest ads, was most strongly related to the partisan media coverage, rather than to the issue priorities of the official Obama or MoveOn.org ads on YouTube. These results extend the intermedia agenda-setting framework to political activist communication efforts and consumer-generated content.     

Online Environmental Engagement Among Youth: Influence of Parents,Attitudes and Demographics

Although young citizens may not always politically engage in the same fashion as their elders, research suggests they are using Facebook, Twitter, and other newer communication systems to mobilize politically both generally and around environmental issues. Given the declining environmental conditions facing young citizens, a national stratified quota sample of 1,096 U.S. parents and their children between the ages of 12 and 17 was conducted to investigate the factors potentially related to their efforts to persuade members of their online social networks to be more environmental. We believe that online peer persuasion is an important concept to investigate because peer persuasion can create subjective norms that ultimately may influence behavior. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, although parents influence youth behavior (Adj. R ² = .11), the greatest variance in behavior was explained by the youth's own environmental self-efficacy, environmental news consumption, political interest, time spent online, gender, and environmental consumerism (ΔR ² = .29). Youth political interest and environmental consumerism were especially important variables in the final model. Structural equation modeling reinforced that parental influence is primarily indirect. This study appears to be among the first to link environmental consumerism with youth online peer persuasion.