Hearing the Other Side? – Debiasing Political Opinions in the Case of the Scottish Independence Referendum
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6345113 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Céline Colombo (0000-0002-2259-7173, University of Zurich, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 23-42 |
| Publication date | 2018-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032321717723486 |
| OpenAlex | W2756872733 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 65 |
This study reports the effects of two debiasing strategies on the complexity of people’s thinking on a controversial policy issue – the question of Scottish independence. I start from the well-researched assumptions of motivated reasoning theory that individuals tend to protect their beliefs, are often not willing to hear the other side and fail to integrate contrasting arguments and different perspectives in their political considerations – although considering different viewpoints is a fundamental normative requirement for democratic decision-making. Two different debiasing techniques, which are meant to counteract this tendency and to evoke more integrative and complex thinking, were tested experimentally: a cognitive and a motivational strategy. The experiment was situated in the context of the Scottish independence referendum. The expectation of accountability – having to justify one’s opinion in front of unknown others – significantly enhanced integrative complexity of thinking about the issue, while inducing subjects to consider the opposite had no significant effect. Opinion strength and political knowledge did not affect the treatment effects significantly
Accountability · Context (archaeology · Debiasing · Economics · Epistemology · Independence (probability theory · Normative · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Referendum · Situated · Sociology · Wishful thinking · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Law · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Coming to public judgment
The Rationalizing Voter
How Voters Decide
Democratic Innovations
Social Cognition
The Ambivalent Partisan
Demanding Choices
Students as Experimental Participants
Conceptual/integrative complexity
Overcoming the Inevitable Anchoring Effect
The Difference Between “Significant” and “Not Significant” is not Itself Statistically Significant
Chapter 5
Elements of Reason
The Effects of Negativity and Motivated Information Processing During a Political Campaign
A Theory of Framing and Opinion Formation in Competitive Elite Environments
Democracy for Realists
Giving Debiasing Away
Boomerang Effects in Science Communication
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
Hearing the Other Side
Empirische Deliberationsforschung – eine systematische Übersicht
Disentangling Diversity in Deliberative Democracy
Accountability and complexity of thought
Experimenting with a Democratic Ideal
Activating a mental simulation mind-set through generation of alternatives
The freezing and unfreezing of lay-inferences
Deliberative and non-deliberative persuasion
When Does Deliberation Begin? Internal Reflection versus Public Discussion in Deliberative Democracy
Hot Cognition or Cool Consideration? Testing the Effects of Motivated Reasoning on Political Decision Making
Same Facts, Different Interpretations
The Political Conditioning of Economic Perceptions
Political Parties, Motivated Reasoning, and Public Opinion Formation
Partisan Bias and Information Discounting in Economic Judgments
Who Toes the Party Line? Cues, Values, and Individual Differences
The Influence of Partisan Motivated Reasoning on Public Opinion
Can Partisan Cues Diminish Democratic Accountability
The Motivated Processing of Political Arguments
Integrative Complexity of Communications in International Crises
The Politics of Motivation
Turning a Blind Eye
Partisanship in a Social Setting
Advantages and Disadvantages of Cognitive Heuristics in Political Decision Making
Motivated Skepticism in the Evaluation of Political Beliefs
Partisanship, Political Control, and Economic Assessments
Disaggregating Deliberation’s Effects
Considered Opinions
Considering the opposite
Attitude Importance and the Accumulation of Attitude-Relevant Knowledge in Memory
Biased assimilation and attitude polarization
Party Over Policy
Heuristic versus systematic information processing and the use of source versus message cues in persuasion
The Two-Step Flow of Communication
The case for motivated reasoning
Shortcuts Versus Encyclopedias
Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate
A Source of Bias in Public Opinion Stability
How Elite Partisan Polarization Affects Public Opinion Formation
The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation
Biculturalism
On the Use of College Students in Social Science Research
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2024 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |