• Polarized speech: A function of self-per

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Friday, April 01, 2022 22:30:36
    Polarized speech: A function of self-persuasion

    Date:
    April 1, 2022
    Source:
    Carnegie Mellon University
    Summary:
    A new study finds competitive debaters, randomly assigned a
    position, persuade themselves to the superiority of their side,
    even if it falls contrary to their own personal beliefs.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    A new study finds competitive debaters, randomly assigned a position,
    persuade themselves to the superiority of their side, even if it falls
    contrary to their own personal beliefs. This suggests self-persuasion is
    a significant and resilient contributor to polarization and disagreement
    on policy. The results are available in the April 1 issue of the journal American Economic Review.


    ========================================================================== "Politicians are in the business of persuasion," said Peter Schwardmann, assistant professor in social and decision sciences at Dietrich
    College of Humanities and Social Sciences and contributing author on the
    study. "This work gives us a window into politics and how a politician's beliefs may evolve." Polarization in society is on stark display in
    the U.S. Congress. No matter how much people communicate, we seem to be
    growing further and further apart.

    While self-persuasion has been studied in the laboratory setting,
    Schwardmann and a team of researchers know that this phenomenon is not
    confined to the lab.

    They used data gathered during international debate competitions to
    explore how self-persuasion influences an individual's factual belief
    and confidence when defending a position.

    "We find that competitive debates lead to polarization, because people
    persuade themselves that their side is right even before the debate
    starts," said Joe"l van der Weele, associate professor at the Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making at the University of Amsterdam. Van der Weele is a contributing author on the
    study. "The debate itself does not lead to convergence of opinions,
    so the initial polarization persists, even when we ask them a day
    after the debate." Data collection took place at four competitions
    (2019, 2020 and 2021) that involved more than 400 participants from 58 countries. At the beginning of every debate, each team was presented
    with a topic and randomly assigned to either the supporting or opposing position. Teams received 15 minutes to prepare their defenses -- without
    time for research -- before engaging in an hour-long debate that followed
    the procedures of British Parliamentary debating rules.

    Schwardmann and his colleagues gathered three types of surveys to evaluate participants' thoughts on a topic throughout each competition. They took
    a baseline survey before the event, a second survey before each debate and
    a final survey after each debate. The surveys evaluated the participants' factual beliefs in the motion being argued, confidence in the strength of
    their position and how personal attitudes aligned with the argued motion.

    The researchers found self-persuasion occurs despite incentives
    for accuracy and persists even after exposure to opposing views. In
    addition, participants were inclined to believe a statement was true if
    it strengthened their argument for an assigned position.

    "We like to think that we are rational people who base [our] opinions
    on fact, but we often end up with the opinions that are 'convenient'
    or strategically useful in a given context," said van der Weele. "The
    apparent ease with which we do this, even in a setting where these
    opinions have been induced in an explicitly random manner, should lead
    us to question our own opinions much more, or simply take them less
    seriously." Self-persuasion can drive political beliefs and limit the
    ability to resolve conflict. Schwardmann is interested in exploring this
    topic further, with a focus on whether greater confidence in a position actually helps with persuading others.

    "The exchange of ideas during a competitive debate does not lead people
    to reach consensus," said Schwardmann. "A useful strategy to avoid self-persuasion may require a more collaborative approach to arrive at
    the truth." Schwardmann and van der Weele were joined on the project, "Self-Persuasion: Evidence from Field Experiments at International
    Debating Competitions," by Egon Tripodi at the University of Essex. The
    project received funding from the CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition,
    the Research Priority Area Behavioral Economics at the University
    of Amsterdam, the Dutch Science Foundation, the European University
    Institute and the Russell Sage Foundation.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Carnegie_Mellon_University. Original written by Stacy Kish. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Peter Schwardmann, Egon Tripodi, Joe"l J. van der
    Weele. Self-Persuasion:
    Evidence from Field Experiments at International Debating
    Competitions.

    American Economic Review, 2022; 112 (4): 1118 DOI:
    10.1257/aer.20200372 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220401122233.htm

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