Explaining contentious political issues promotes open-minded thinking.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Political Science
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Cognitive scientists propose explaining political issues may reduce intergroup toxicity by highlighting comprehension gaps.
• The impact of explanation on open-minded political thinking is debated, with potential for increased impartiality or myside bias.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether inviting individuals to explain contentious political issues promotes more open-minded political thinking.
• To examine if feeling welcomed during explanation fosters interpersonal closeness and reduces political disagreement.

Main Methods:

• Five experiments (N=1884) were conducted across diverse settings, including laboratory interactions, US presidential elections, Brexit vote context, and with gun-control partisans.
• Studies utilized coded and self-report measures to assess open-minded thinking and interpersonal closeness.

Main Results:

• Explaining politically contentious topics consistently led to more open-minded thinking across various measures and contexts.
• Participants who felt their explanations were welcomed reported increased closeness to their discussion partners.
• This effect of increased closeness generalized to other outgroup members with whom participants disagreed.

Conclusions:

• Encouraging explanations of political issues can foster open-mindedness and reduce intergroup toxicity.
• The findings suggest a practical approach for promoting more constructive political engagement and understanding.