A study suggests that sharing personal experiences may help build respect between those with opposing political or moral beliefs. Rising political intolerance can ruin personal relationships and undermine open discussion. Emily Kubin and colleagues investigated whether increasing perceptions of rationality in opponents could foster mutual respect and increase political tolerance. Across 15 studies, the authors examined two strategies for increasing the perceived rationality of political opponents: supporting one's moral beliefs with facts versus supporting one's moral beliefs with personal experiences. The studies used varied methodologies, samples, and issues, including analyses of 300,978 comments for 194 YouTube videos expressing opinions about abortion, in-person conversations about guns, and 137 Fox News and CNN transcripts. The analysis revealed that people are more likely to respect moral stances of political adversaries that are based on personal experiences rather than on facts. The personal experiences most likely to build respect are issue-relevant and those that involve suffering or vulnerability. According to the authors, the work demonstrates how to create mutual respect and decrease political intolerance and also suggests that facts are perceived as less salient than anecdotes of personal vulnerability.
Article #20-08389: "Personal experiences bridge moral and political divides better than facts," by Emily Kubin, Curtis Puryear, Chelsea Schein, and Kurt Gray.
MEDIA CONTACT: Kurt Gray, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC; tel: 919-843-5426; email: kurtgray@unc.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences