Because the vast majority of Americans don’t want to see this kind of division; the vast majority of Americans want to build a shared future together. Samantha Hedges October 28, 2020. American politics became more polarized along party lines over the past 50 years. Of course, superordinate goals also come with a potential risk. The researchers then replicated this study online with nearly 500 participants and found no difference in the results between Clinton and Trump supporters. Eventually, the divides grow so seemingly wide that a tiny minority of actors believe anything is justified. 1. Whenever we form an in-group, we also create out-groups. One of the best ways we can combat that dangerous tendency to lump groups in with extremists is to remember and honor the nuances of others. Humans are social creatures — we want to belong, and are highly attuned to popularity. Turns out that, at least temporarily, you can for 94% of people." Jazz techniques can teach us something about bridging differences and elevating diverse perspectives. The veterans also talked about the military's priority of getting the job done. Prefer pride in humanity. Willingness to accept and explain more moderate opinions. German pride gave us Hitler, American pride gave us Trump, British pride gave us Brexit. What the Struggle for Gay Rights Teaches Us about Bridging Differences. Immigration policy can be framed as left versus right, or as a complex issue that pits some right-wing business owners against others, some left-wing unions against more progressive activists, established immigrants against newer arrivals, and so on. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. 4. Political polarization is now toxic in America. That means if politicians, pundits and ideological leaders stand vocally against polarizing and hateful language and actions (as Virginia’s Republican leadership did by declaring they wanted no “white supremacist garbage” at their gun rally), it can change partisans’ perceptions, by making such behavior appear unacceptable to that group. Given their ideological differences, how would the participants get along with each other? We can’t bypass them just because we want a certain political outcome. Particularly dangerous are jokes that employ violent rhetoric or dehumanize by comparing people to animals or insects. (2020, February 6). Instead, it was the political allegiance of the violator. The promise of perspective taking was recently illustrated in an experiment to attempt to change support for issues faced by transgender minorities. In New Zealand’s referendum on the voting system, an independent educational body was created to inform both sides of the debate without taking a position (as the British government controversially did during the Brexit referendum). Thus, stories that encourage people to take the perspective of or empathize with the other party can reduce people’s prejudice. Contemptuous, even. So, if people read that “Obama is not a Muslim,” many will remember “Obama is Muslim, maybe?” The best way to avoid deepening misinformation is to simply state alternative information: “Obama is Christian.”. Avoid bad jokes. Andrew Hanauer is president and CEO of the One America Movement, an organization founded by faith and community leaders to address polarization in American society. Here are seven research-backed ideas for pundits, politicians, reporters and regular citizens to bring down the temperature. Cameron Brick, Ph.D., is a social psychologist who studies how people react to shared dilemmas such as political polarization or climate change using surveys and experiments. We must start taking news and social media shares with a grain of salt. National news focuses on that polarization and conflict, covering the partisan fights in Washington and framing politics as a game with winners and losers. The Difficult Conversations Lab at Columbia University found that when people read nuanced articles on policy issues that underscored this kind of intra-party disagreement, their conversations with people from the other party were of higher quality.