The new way to talk to people you disagree with
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Some interesting — and timely — new findings from UPenn's Annenberg Public Policy Center might help you handle holiday haranguing from people you disagree with.
Why it matters: If science can save us from uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner conversations bound to turn political this week, enlighten us, please.
Driving the news: UPenn's social psychology experts say a strategy called bypassing is perhaps a better, more disarming way to confront misinformation rather than telling loved ones their beliefs are bunk.
- The strategy works by parrying misinformation with true and positive or counterbalancing statements on the topic at hand, according to research they published this month.
- "When one is interested in changing attitudes, introducing other beliefs may be as effective — and perhaps sometimes more so — than attempting to change a specific belief by arguing against it," the authors write.
State of play: Misinformation is everywhere these days. And with AI, it's only getting worse.
- It's long been axiomatic that "the gold standard" for combating misinformation is pointing to information that "factually contradicts" the false statements, says UPenn social psychologist Javier A. Granados Samayoa.
- But politics is a team sport, and people's beliefs and identities often adhere to party lines, political analyst Ezra Klein writes in "Why We're Polarized." Our stances are like our favorite Bruce Willis holiday thriller. They die hard.
How it works: You're sitting at the dinner table, steaming about a relative who won't stop complaining about the lying news media.
- You want to go point-counterpoint with them.
Don't, researchers say. Instead hit them with something civilized like:
- "'Having balanced media gives you a rounded perspective and can lead to more informed opinions,'" Granados Samayoa says.
Zoom in: UPenn researchers say "bypassing recognizes that beliefs do not exist in isolation."
Case in point: Medical experts' approach during the pandemic.
- Some now say they took the wrong tone when trying to defend safety measures like masks or build confidence in vaccines, the Wall Street Journal reports.
- People are more likely to have positive attitudes toward vaccination, the UPenn authors write, if they believe "vaccinating will lead to positive outcomes."
The bottom line: "You need to round out the tools in your arsenal," Granados Samayoa tells Axios.
- Bypassing doesn't mean you'll win everyone over. And there are still times when the blunt truth hurts and people need to hear it.
- But this way keeps the peace at the dinner table. Who could bypass that?