A new study from across multiple colleges has suggested that talking politics with strangers is not as awful as you might think.
When challenged with someone of the opposite opinion, some of us have the habit of remaining tight-lipped in the hopes of avoiding confrontation. However new research has shown that this could be preventing you from engaging in a healthy discussion.
Why you should be talking to people with different political opinions
Whether it’s family members at Christmas or co-workers at a staff party, conversations surrounding politics are often put on the back burner to avoid direct confrontation. But perhaps that overcaution could actually be standing in the way of talking to people with different political opinions.
In a new study, scientists delved into the mysteries of political conversation in the hopes of closing the enormous cultural divide most of the Western world is currently experiencing. Their team was comprised of behavioral scientists Kristina A. Wald, University of Pennsylvania, Michael Kardas, Oklahoma State University, and Nicholas Epley, University of Chicago.
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“Mistakenly fearing a negative interaction may create misplaced partisan divides,” they said, “not only keeping people from connecting with each other but also keeping people from learning about each other and from each other.”
To conduct their study, which was published in the Psychological Science journal, the team pulled together 200 people of differing opinions. They were then paired up to discuss hot issues like climate change and abortion rights, with only some of the participants clued into who else agreed or disagreed with them.
By the end of the discussion, the team found that most participants reported a positive experience despite differing opinions with their partners.
Through another experiment, this time using pre-recorded monologues from the participants, the scientists discovered that people were more likely to report a positive experience when they had actually spoken to the other person.
What does this mean?
The second experiment seemingly confirmed that people are more likely to connect with strangers when they have actually spoken to them.
“Misunderstanding the outcomes of a conversation,” the scientists concluded, “could lead people to avoid discussing disagreements more often, creating a misplaced barrier to learning, social connection, free inquiry, and free expression.”
The team also said that further study is needed to analyze political opinions within non-stranger groups like family members.
Though the study undoubtedly sheds light on how we humans get in our own ways, you also can’t ignore how polarising political issues are in 2024. Though in writing the idea of discussing politics with strangers seems logical, in reality, there is a safety aspect that has to come into consideration.
