Name: How to have better political conversations
Uploaded: 2017-01-20T16:07:08Z
Duration: 11 min 51 s
Description: Robb Willer studies the forces that unite and divide us. As a social psychologist, he researches how moral values -- typically a source of division -- can also be used to bring people together. Willer shares compelling insights on how we might bridge the ideological divide and offers some intuitive advice on ways to be more persuasive when talking politics.

Robb Willer: How to have better political conversations

How to have better political conversations

Robb Willer studies the forces that unite and divide us. As a social psychologist, he researches how moral values -- typically a source of division -- can also be used to bring people together. Willer shares compelling insights on how we might bridge the ideological divide and offers some intuitive advice on ways to be more persuasive when talking politics.

Political polarization is rising at unprecedented levels, with Americans increasingly avoiding friendships, relationships, and even family ties across party lines. Research reveals that liberals and conservatives often talk past one another because they appeal to their own moral values instead of their counterparts’. In one study, only 9 percent of liberals used conservative values when persuading conservatives, and vice versa, making real persuasion rare. Connecting across divides starts with empathy and reframing arguments using the other side’s core values.