He's been trending in that direction for a bit (I keep looking for when the number of strong disapprovers is double that of strong approvers), but I hope the Yougov isn't an outlier - as the Silver Bulletin composite suggests it could be:
New study: Researchers in Germany tested a version of "correcting misperceptions" to see if it could mitigate hostile attitudes between the far left and far right. I could.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
New study: AI chatbots can be effective at reducing polarizing attitudes - especially when directed to exhibit receptiveness and active listening.
www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark...
If we could only figure out how to mass manufacture it and get all Dem leaders to drink.
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Hi @grimalkina.bsky.social and @joelchan86.bsky.social - it is so great to meet you and see you share a passion for aligning practitioners and academics on research, something we're working on at @prosocialdesign.bsky.social (inspired by @natematias.bsky.social as well). Would love to talk!
So thankful for federalism - and the NGA. A reminder that it may be the governors who get us through this mess.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
Thanks @ehess.bsky.social , I hadn't actually known that (but see I could have looked it up here: www.nyc.gov/site/mayorsp...).
Do you know if Mamdani's plans similarly apply to buildings with 6+ units?
This site gives an idea of the distribution of apartment building sizes in NYC. Most people live in building with at least 6 apartments. But over 25% live in buildings with fewer than six apartments. chpcny.org/visualizatio...
I have officially joined the Luddite community.
buttondown.com/nycofftech
An AI-enhanced discussion tool (www.swaybeta.ai) is gaining traction across campuses and, according to professors using it their courses, helping students have more productive conversations on hard topics with those they disagree with. That's good news.
www.chronicle.com/article/can-...
Great review from @emilykubin.bsky.social and @vaparker.bsky.social on the challenges of researching what effectively reduces polarization - including knowing if and when reducing polarization should be something we want to do.
www.researchgate.net/profile/Emil...
Not to get too maudlin, but this old (great) song is feeling all too current.
An RCT across 120 villages in Bangladesh suggests that film can be a powerful way to increase inter-group trust - especially if viewed by folks who are socially centrally connected.
academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...
Nice to see the Community Notes volunteers apparently agree.
A legit point, and one I imagine most who do this kind of work agree with. But their work is also based on the belief that few "think modern day Republicans [or Dems] are doing great things." Most people are more complex than that - and it's in discovering that complexity that less scary paths lie.
What might make difficult conversations across division more fruitful? This study, using data from StoryCorps' One Small Step project, suggests pairing partners across generations:
Hi @newpublic.org, we've since posted a write-up of why that Danish study got us convinced: www.prosocialdesign.org/blog/we-find...
I am one white person who needed to hear this - and am grateful for it. In case you're like me...
Kristof fan here but, yeah, this post is simplisitic. So many reasons why the comparison isn't apt, top 2: a) Iranians are 4 decades+ into their autocracy and b) vast economic hardship. Call us back in few years after Trump has destroyed our economy and see what protests look like then.
Good title and great quote:
"Success requires leaning into the power of a shared social identity. ... Sometimes it means leaning into an “us vs. them” mentality, but more often it means building solidarity within a group while also expanding the sense of who “we” are."
tinyurl.com/4ujerece
Screenshot of paper abstract with highlighted quote "our findings revel that 27 studies documented improved intergroup attitudes across diverse contexts..."
Social media has been implicated as a divisive global force — though scholars debate how much blame it really deserves. But a new review of 30 empirical studies finds it can also be used to reduce distrust and animosity across divides.
scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/c...
100% get your point. Yet that well orchestrated snow-job was disturbingly effective - in that almost all Americans were either supportive or fairly indifferent about invading Iraq. The good news about this blusterfudge is that at least half of Americans aren't buying it.
Another data point on why it's always a good idea to pause and wait for the full story.
Headline last night: Man Shot in Chest in Midtown Manhattan, Police Looking for Suspect.
Headline this morning...
abc7ny.com/post/police-...
NYS flu data: nyshc.health.ny.gov/web/nyapd/ne...
NYS Covid hosptitalizations: coronavirus.health.ny.gov/daily-hospit...
A reminder that Covid is not the only thing we should be testing - and staying home - for.
3,500 New Yorkers were hospitalized with the flu last week they counted - compared to 450 with Covid. And it doesn't look like we've hit the peak.
Appreciate the reply and 100% agree. I think the the peril is when *any* dogma takes social and political hold - and is used not to just proselytize (which I still don't have an inherent problem with), but to silence.
"Connective Democracy" is a new term for me, but I like it: perhaps better than "social cohesion" or "bridging" it hits at why it's important for people who disagree to connect; democracy depends on it. Since you think about these things: @lisa-schirch.bsky.social , @jonathanstray.bsky.social
I don't know how I missed this special issue on "Connective Democracy" and social media. Some great work thinking about how social media divides - and can be designed to connect us even when we deeply disagree. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
I'm an agnostic who never feels offended when someone tries to convert me. I see it as kind: "aw, they think I'm going to suffer a terrible fate and want to save me." Sure, sometimes it comes with epistemic arrogance, but I find atheists share that arrogance but without the kindness.
