Misperceptions of Political Incivility Online

by Paul Oshinki | Dec 18, 2020 | Politics, Psychology

Civil political discourse, a fundamental practice of democratic society, is increasingly perceived as threatened by the American polarized political environment. Recent surveys of Americans’ perceptions of civility in discourse suggest a shift in the tenor of dialogue...

The Brain’s Autocomplete Feature Oversimplifies Complex Issues and Impedes Tolerance

by Alan Sears | Nov 9, 2020 | Psychology

Enter any of the following words into your browser’s search bar: progressive, liberal, conservative, evangelical, right-wing, gay, straight, Muslim, Republican or Democrat. Do you notice that other terms that the algorithms think are related appear automatically?...

A Tool for Understanding

by David Byrne | Nov 4, 2020 | Psychology

Like a lot of folks, I occasionally hear people espouse values and beliefs different and often counter to my own. When I was young, I didn’t understand this. Many of these beliefs and positions seemed irrational to me. How could people believe such crazy things? But...

Gut Check: The Psychology of Partisan Stereotyping

by Doug Ahler & Gaurav Sood | Oct 28, 2020 | Politics, Psychology

Democrats and Republicans today seem like members of rival Veronese families. Not only do partisans distrust and disparage the out-party, they also dislike the idea of anyone in their family dating an out-party supporter. A Democratic Romeo and a Republican Juliet in...

Judging Others and Judging Ourselves: Moral Myopia?

by David Myers | Oct 2, 2020 | Psychology

“As we pull down controversial statues and reassess historical figures” let’s also examine our own moral blind spots, urges Nicholas Kristof. Although our moral failings may not be on the horrific scale of those who enslaved their fellow humans, we likely still have...