What is it about?
Many people don’t want to talk about politics with others who hold different opinions. However, political discussions are important in a democratic society. Thus, we conducted four online experiments to explore what motivates people to engage in these discussions. We found that people are more willing to talk to someone when both discussion partners can admit that they do not know everything about the topic. This willingness to admit one's knowledge gaps is called “intellectual humility.”
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Why is it important?
We now know that acknowledging one’s knowledge gaps is beneficial when dealing with political divisions. Perhaps our work can encourage people to engage with others – even when they have different opinions.
Perspectives
This work is part of my dissertation and the first article I have published. I learned a lot during this process, and I am very happy that the work is now available to others!
Larissa Knöchelmann
Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Effects of intellectual humility in the context of affective polarization: Approaching and avoiding others in controversial political discussions., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, May 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000462.
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