Bridging the divide: How talking to people with different views can ease political polarisation
09-01-2025
In an era of deepening political divides, echo chambers are growing as individuals retreat into spaces where they only engage with like-minded people. But what if conversations between people with opposing views could reduce this polarisation? A new study, supported by CIVICA, explores how such dialogues could foster understanding and bridge the gap between opposing views.
Reducing Polarisation and Building Understanding
In a large-scale online experiment, participants engaged in naturalistic face-to-face video discussions centered on political facts. The results reveal that, while partisans show a preference for conversations with like-minded individuals due to concerns about discomfort or distrust, cross-partisan dialogues have unexpected benefits. Participants’ expectations about learning were consistent with their priors, as they anticipated learning slightly less from counter-partisan exchanges—a prediction that the results confirmed. However, their concerns about the discomfort of cross-partisan conversations proved unfounded, as these interactions were found to be equally enjoyable as co-partisan ones. Consistent with misplaced prejudice driving partisan sorting, the experience of a cross-partisan interaction significantly reduced affective polarization, with this effect persisting even three months after the experiment.
The findings suggest that encouraging such dialogues could play a crucial role in reducing political hostility. However, the results also highlight challenges in information sharing across party lines, driven by partisans’ skepticism toward counter-partisans as credible sources. Addressing these biases could enhance the effectiveness of cross-partisan communication, not just for building social cohesion but also for promoting shared understanding of political facts.
CIVICA’s support was instrumental in facilitating this research, enabling us to explore in a timely manner scalable solutions to one of democracy’s pressing challenges. By promoting cross-partisan interaction, we can move closer to bridging divides and fostering a more cohesive society.