Not even money can pop people’s political bubble.
Politically left- and right-leaning people are similarly motivated to avoid opposing views, according to a new study. Both liberals and conservatives – at the same rate – turned down the opportunity to win money when asked if they would hear or read statements that didn’t align with their views.
Two thirds of the volunteers, polled by social psychologists at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Winnipeg, declined their chance at some cash when presented with opposing statements on issues like same-sex marriage, the election, marijuana, climate change, guns and abortion.
“What could ultimately be a contest of ideas is being replaced by two, non-interacting monopolies,” the researchers said. “People on both sides indicated that they anticipated that hearing from the other side would induce cognitive dissonance (the mental stress of a person holding two opposing beliefs),” and that they didn’t want to deal with the effort or frustration associated with those thoughts.
The divide is so pronounced that people in the study even chose to hear the opinions of like-minded people over others on questions like Pepsi or Coke, spring or autumn, aisle or window (seats on an airplane) and NFL or NBA.
People, the study found, refuse to put effort into considering another opinion in part because it could potentially “undermine a sense of shared reality with the person expressing disparate views” that could harm their existing relationships.
Better then to avoid confrontation with friends and remain as partisan and unreasonable as possible.
