Lunchtime Seminars by Mark Brandt

The unintended consequences of depolarization treatments (in the US) Abstract Many interventions exist for reducing toxic polarization. However, a possibility is that these interventions that aim to help political opponents get along have unintended side effects. For example, they may increase other forms of intolerance, reduce civic engagement, or reduce people’s willingness to confront prejudices or misinformation. We tested these possibilities in a preregistered experiment with a large sample of US Americans. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two intervention conditions known to reduce polarization or a control condition. After answering questions related to polarization, anti-democratic attitudes, and support for violence (the primary outcomes), participants answered questions bout their prejudices towards a variety of social groups, their willingness to confront prejudice and misinformation, and their willingness to engage in politics (the possible side effects). Because data collection is ongoing, I do not yet know the results. I look forward to sharing them with you all. Bio Mark Brandt is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University and is currently a fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study. His research goal is to understand the causes and consequences of political, religious, and moral beliefs that can ultimately be leveraged to reduce conflict and promote a more fair, just, and free society.