By Joseph J. Siev, Aviva Philipp-Muller, Geoffrey Durso, and Duane T. Wegener
Surveys show that tens of millions of Americans have nuanced opinions on political issues. Yet, political discourse remains more polarized than ever. How can this be?
Part of the explanation is news coverage and social media algorithms that promote extreme content, making it seem like more people hold extreme views than actually do.
But media biases are not entirely to blame. In new research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, we explored another possible reason nuanced opinions are underrepresented in political debates: Nuance is disincentivized because it can ultimately reduce a person’s popularity.
Our research focused on perceptions of people who express ambivalent political opinions, acknowledging good points on both sides of the issue, while still taking an overall position.
We thought ambivalent people might pay a price in terms of popularity. In other words, when people express ambivalent opinions, others might like and respect them less than they like those with one-sided opinions.
This could help explain the “death of nuance” in political discourse. It might also help revive it.
Participants began our studies by filling out a survey about........