Today’s Co ‐ Sponsors
Dedicated to enhancing local democracy through improved public communication and community problem solving Martín Carcasson, CPD Director Professor, Department of Communication Studies EMAIL: cpd@colostate.edu
CPD Projects, 2006 ‐ 2016 • Civic mission of schools •Poverty in Larimer County • Grade configuration of Poudre •PSD Student Think Tank facilitator group School District schools • K ‐ 12 school improvement • Statewide dropout rate •Improving higher education through • Colorado Health Care Reform student ‐ faculty reciprocity • Student housing • Politics of food • Improving higher education •Issues surrounding aging • Childhood obesity • Early childhood education • Bicycle safety • On campus stadium proposal • Diversity Dialogues at CSU Diversity • Senior transportation Conference • Campus smoking • STEM education in K ‐ 12 • School safety • Arts Engagement Summit • Bullying • UniverCity Connections (CSU/Old • Mental health Town collaborative project) • Nature in the City • School budgeting issues/school • Larimer County Landfill/Wasteshed closures • Diversity and Inclusion in Fort Collins • Medical Marijuana • CSU Innovation and Economic Prosperity • Regional visioning process • CSU parking and affordable housing • Water and growth issues
Overview • Introduction • Presentation: A Mind Designed for Polarization • Table introductions and values discussion • Presentation: The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization and the Possibility of Authentic Engagement • Table discussions on authentic engagement • Close and gallery walk
Purpose of Tonight’s Event
DELIBERATION Purpose is to make tough decisions together Deliberative Deliberative Dialogue Debate DIALOGUE DEBATE Purpose is to foster understanding and Purpose is to evaluate quality of respect through conversation and arguments storytelling through clash and/or expertise
Purpose of Tonight’s Event
So what are we learning about brain science that’s relevant to deliberative engagement?
What Are We Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? The Problematic We crave certainty and consistency We are suckers for the good v. evil narrative
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? The Problematic We crave certainty and consistency We are suckers for the good v. evil narrative We are tribal (prefer to gather with like ‐ minded) We filter & cherry pick evidence to support our views
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Stages of motivated reasoning selective exposure / What and who we expose echo chambers/ ourselves to media bubbles
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Stages of motivated reasoning selective exposure / What and who we expose echo chambers/ ourselves to Media bubbles confirmation bias, backfire How we interpret new effect, cognitive dissonance evidence
How we interpret new evidence “ when we want to believe something , we ask ourselves, ‘ Can I believe it?’ Then…we search for supporting evidence, and if we find even a single piece of pseudo-evidence, we can stop thinking.… In contrast, when we don’t want to believe something , we ask ourselves, ‘ Must I believe it?’ Then we search for contrary evidence, and if we find a single reason to doubt the claim, we can dismiss it“ • Jonathan Haidt and Tom Gilovich
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Stages of motivated reasoning selective exposure / What and who we expose echo chambers/ ourselves to Media bubbles confirmation bias, backfire How we interpret new effect, cognitive dissonance evidence
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Stages of motivated reasoning selective exposure / What and who we expose echo chambers/ ourselves to Media bubbles confirmation bias, backfire How we interpret new effect, cognitive dissonance evidence egoism, illusory correlation, How we make attributions and negativity bias tell stories
https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions-in-5-charts/
https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions-in-5-charts/
https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions-in-5-charts/
https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions-in-5-charts/
https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions-in-5-charts/
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Stages of motivated reasoning selective exposure / What and who we expose echo chambers/ ourselves to Media bubbles confirmation bias, backfire How we interpret new effect, cognitive dissonance evidence egoism, illusory correlation, How we make attributions and negativity bias tell stories heuristics, self ‐ serving bias, How we make decisions social proof
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Stages of motivated reasoning selective exposure / What and who we expose echo chambers/ ourselves to Media bubbles confirmation bias, backfire How we interpret new effect, cognitive dissonance evidence egoism, illusory correlation, How we make attributions and negativity bias tell stories heuristics, self ‐ serving bias, How we make decisions social proof availability bias What we remember
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? The Problematic We crave certainty and consistency We are suckers for the good v. evil narrative We are tribal (prefer to gather with like ‐ minded) We filter & cherry pick evidence to support our views We avoid value dilemmas, tensions, and tough choices
Ground Rules • BE HONEST AND RESPECTFUL • LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND • ITS OK TO DISAGREE, BUT DO SO WITH CURIOSITY, NOT HOSTILITY • BE BRIEF SO EVERYONE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE • THIS IS NOT A DEBATE, FOCUS ON SHARING AND LEARNING, NOT PERSUADING
Values Exercise
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? The Problematic We crave certainty and consistency We are suckers for the good v. evil narrative We are tribal (prefer to gather with like ‐ minded) We filter & cherry pick evidence to support our views We avoid value dilemmas, tensions, and tough choices
What We Are Learning from Brain Science The Good We are inherently social and seek purpose and community We are inherently empathetic We are inherently pragmatic and creative We can overcome our bad tendencies and build better habits
The Problem We Face Most of our methods for political talk primarily activate the negative aspects of human nature, and rarely tap into or nurture the positive.
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases negative interaction effects
Negative Interaction Effects (i.e. Bad Process) Kathryn Shultz – Being Wrong • First step: Ignorance assumption • Second step: Idiot assumption • Third Step: Evil assumption
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases negative interaction effects the Russell effect
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases Negative interaction effects The Russell effect
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases Negative interaction effects The Russell effect Impact of the internet
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases Negative interaction effects Overly The adversarial Russell political effect system Impact of the internet
Drawbacks of an Overly ‐ Adversarial Political System • Often focuses on “winning” vs. solving problems • Zero ‐ sum game incentivizes “bad” communication, strategic research, and problematizes implementation • Often focuses on blaming (them) vs. taking accountability (us) • Relies on narrow value frames (thus avoids tensions) • Plays into flaws of human nature • Attracts/privileges organized, entrenched voices • Negative side effects like polarization, cynicism, and apathy (which then cause even worse communication) • Assumes a narrow role for citizens (citizens as voters, consumers, or spectators)
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases Negative Media focus interaction on conflict effects Implications of hyper-polarization: “Anecdote wars” • Meanspiritedness • Overly The adversarial Russell political effect system Impact of the internet
The Vicious Cycle of False Polarization Individually developed subconscious biases Negative Media focus interaction on conflict effects Implications of hyper-polarization: “Anecdote wars” • Meanspiritedness • Assumption of negative motives • Conspiracy theories • Drowning out of legitimate concerns • Overly The adversarial Russell political effect system Impact of the internet
What We Are Learning from Brain Science and Social Psychology? Bottom line: The most powerful thing to help people overcome their biases and build community is genuine conversation with people they respect and trust .
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