Change is Hard but Not Impossible

2020 ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
Brian F. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
American Politics ◽  
Interpersonal Trust ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Opinion Change ◽  
Lgbt Community ◽  
Clear Thinking ◽  
Productive Discussion

Chapter 7 summarizes the main points of the book and reiterates concrete, actionable steps to encourage rational and clear thinking when it comes to political discussion. It also reflects on the successes of the LGBT community and allies in terms of opinion change, focusing on three important components: visibility and closeness, message and tone, and diversity. While it may seem that we are in constant and vigorous disagreement, there are many things we share in common, including a desire to stop the contentiousness and vitriol in American politics. The concluding chapter includes a summary of the entire book, highlighting how to use tools like data and information, emotion, interpersonal trust, and shared identities to promote meaningful and productive discussion about sometimes difficult political issues.

scholarly journals Incivility and disrespectfulness in online political discussion

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
Angga Prawadika Aji ◽  
Ari Sapto
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Online News ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political News ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Online News Sites

Reader’s comment columns on online political news pages are locations where political discussions between citizens can emerge and develop. The reader comment column is a standard feature of almost all media sites because of its ability to initiate discussion and promote a particular article or issues within the news site. Unfortunately, in its development, the online comment column’s discussion process is often filled by incivility and disrespectful expressions, such as sentences containing insults, condemnation, or expressions full of anger. Such sentences have the potential to undermine the discussion process and encourage pointless arguments, especially in articles that discuss political polarity. This study aims to determine the extent to which incivility and disrespectful expressions appear in readers’ comments columns of online news sites, especially on polarized political issues. This study uses content analysis techniques on 403 comments in political news on Detik.com, one of Indonesia’s main news portals. The results show that although the incivility expression shows a small number, the form of disrespectful shows a high number in the readers’ comments. The highest form of the expression of disrespectful is the expression tat contains name-calling (23%), followed by hyperbole (15.6%) and the use of sarcasm (6.2%). The high number of disrespectful expressions seems to be related to the comment column service feature that allows users to use anonymous identities.

Policy Mood and Political Sophistication: Why Everybody Moves Mood

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER K. ENNS ◽  
PAUL M. KELLSTEDT
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Political Sophistication ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Opinion Change

This article presents evidence that both micro (individual level) and macro (aggregate level) theories of public opinion overstate the importance of political sophistication for opinion change. It is argued that even the least politically sophisticated segment of society receives messages about the economy and uses this information to update attitudes about political issues. To test this hypothesis, the authors have used General Social Survey data to construct a 31-item measure of policy mood, disaggregated by political sophistication, that spans from 1972 to 2004. They found that all the subgroups generally changed opinion at the same time, in the same direction, and to about the same extent. Furthermore, they show that groups at different sophistication levels change opinions for predominantly the same reasons.

scholarly journals Parent–Child Similarity in Common and Specific Components of Prejudice: The Role of Ideological Attitudes and Political Discussion

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecil Meeusen ◽  
Kristof Dhont
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Common Component ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Right Wing Authoritarianism ◽  
The Common ◽  
Ideological Attitudes ◽  
Parent Child

Using a representative sample of Belgian adolescents (N = 1530) and both their parents, we investigated the parent–child similarity in prejudice towards different out–groups and ideological attitudes (right–wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation). Contrary to previous studies, first, we distinguished between common and specific components of prejudice to test whether the parent–child similarity in one specific type of prejudice was symptomatic of parent–child similarity in prejudice towards out–groups in general. Second, we evaluated whether the parent–child similarity in common and specific components of prejudice was related to the parent–child similarity in ideological attitudes. Third, we investigated the moderating role of political discussion in the intergenerational framework of ideology and prejudice. Results indicated that parent–child similarity was particularly pronounced for the common rather than the specific component of prejudice and that the similarity in ideological attitudes was partly related to the similarity in the common component of prejudice. Finally, adolescents who discuss social and political issues more (versus less) frequently with their parents more strongly resembled their parents in the common component of prejudice and levels of authoritarianism. These results suggest that generalized prejudice runs in families and highlight politicization of the family as an important socialization mechanism. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

What Does It Mean to Go Public? The American Response to Lysenkoism, Reconsidered

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audra J. Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
Scientific Organizations ◽  
Political Commitments

The American response to Lysenkoism took place at a crucial moment in the evolving relationship between science and the public. Like many professional scientific organizations in the early Cold War, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) resisted involvement in political issues. In contrast to similar societies in the physical sciences, however, the geneticists' silence cannot be explained solely by the fear of financial or political repercussions. Rather, the GSA's reluctance to engage in political discussion reflected an ongoing debate within the scientific community on the proper role for professional societies in political controversy. Those geneticists who did become embroiled in the controversy did so as individuals rather than as emissaries of the profession. Geneticists H. J. Muller, L. C. Dunn, and Theodosius Dobzhansky attempted to reach the public through a variety of outlets, including books, magazines, newspapers, and the radio, but their interventions were shaped by their individual personal and political commitments. The GSA, in contrast, attempted to combat the spread of Lysenkoism with the help of a public relations firm and a Golden Jubilee celebration of the rediscovery of Mendel's laws. The messy story of the American response to the Lysenko crisis demonstrates the limits of scientists' political involvement during the early Cold War.

Exit and Voice in the Future of the Welfare State

1985 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-421
Author(s):  
Colin Crouch
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Liberal Theory ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Individualism And Collectivism ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Welfare State

THE ANTITHESIS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALISM AND COLLECTIVISM which dominates political discussion of the welfare state and many other political issues confuses more than it illuminates. First, the individual of market liberal theory is a curious entity, existin solely as a disembodied unit in market transactions. Secondly, the ‘choice’ which is the means by which units in the liberal system express their freedom is highly constrained: they choose solely between items offered in the market. Such a choice confers power on the choosing individual, but it also limits that power: choices may be made only within the framework that the market provides. Liberal theory is explicit about this; it is this limitation on the behaviour of individuals that protects mankind from tyranny. But by no means all the constraints it imposes are of this kind. If consumers are ill-equiped to choose they are made dependent on the providers ofthe service, who may, if competition is imperfect, acquire something of a dictatorial position themselves.

From Online Political Posting to Mansplaining: The Gender Gap and Social Media in Political Discussion

2019 ◽  
pp. 089443931987025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Koc-Michalska ◽  
Anya Schiffrin ◽  
Anamaria Lopez ◽  
Shelley Boulianne ◽  
Bruce Bimber
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Gender Dynamics ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Uk

The gender dynamics of political discussion are important. These dynamics shape who shares their political views and how they share their views and reactions to these views. Using representative survey data from the United States and the UK, we investigate how social media platforms shape the gender dynamics of political posting. We find that on Facebook, gender does not predict political posting, whereas on Twitter, the gender gap is more pronounced. We also examine the concept of “mansplaining”—a term used to describe a patronizing form of communication directed at women by men. Firstly, we find that posting about political issues to Twitter is more likely to result in being an explainee but also being an explainer of political issues. Furthermore, posting to Twitter increases the likelihood of men reporting having been accused of mansplaining and women reporting having experienced it. In general, more than half of the women say they have experienced mansplaining, especially those who are younger, well educated, and left-leaning. We argue that the possibility of being mansplained affects who is willing to post their opinions online, and as such, caution should be exercised when using digital trace data to represent public opinion.

The Political Use of Religions Symbols: A Case Study of the 1972 Presidential Campaign

1975 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard F. Donahue
Keyword(s):  
American Politics ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Scholarly Activity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Religious Symbols

The relationship between politics and religion in the United States has been studied by political scientists from many perspectives. Church-state relations, religious bloc voting, political issues with strong religious overtones—these and other politico-religious phenomena have long been subjects of scholarly activity within the discipline. However, the use of religious symbols in politics has been much neglected by political scientists (though not by sociologists, psychologists and scholars). Long ago Harold D. Lasswell said “It is of the utmost importance to political science to examine in detail … the processes of symbolization.” Religious symbolization in American politics urges itself upon the political analyst, moreover, because of “the unique relationship” which has existed between religion and politics throughout the history of the nation. And there are, perhaps, no richer and more concentrated examples of politico-religious symbolism than those found in the campaign oratory to which the American public is regularly subjected. Candidates for the American presidency have long resorted to the manipulation of such symbols. Hence, a presidential campaign is a good situation for the study of the political use of religious symbols. The 1972 contest between George McGovern and Richard Nixon is an excellent case study. Frequently characterized by the public press as an election to choose “a national minister” because of the manifest use of politico-religious symbols by the candidates, the campaign provides ample evidence of the uses to which religious symbolization can be applied in American politics.

scholarly journals Why Aren't Political Scientists Interested in Native American Politics?

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1042-1043
Author(s):  
Paul Frymer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Native American ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Political Science ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Collective Decision ◽  
Collective Decision Making ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Political Issues

Native Americans have been structurally excluded from the discipline of political science in the continental United States, as has Native epistemology and political issues. I analyze the reasons for these erasures and elisions, noting the combined effects of rejecting Native scholars, political issues, analysis, and texts. I describe how these arise from presumptions inherent to the disciplinary practices of U.S. political science, and suggest a set of alternative formulations that could expand our understanding of politics, including attention to other forms of law, constitutions, relationships to the environment, sovereignty, collective decision-making, U.S. history, and majoritarianism.

scholarly journals The Electoral College: A Constitutional Needle in a Political Hay Stack

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Anna M. Cox
Keyword(s):  
American History ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
Electoral College ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Simple Fact ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Representative System

In examination of the constitutional and political institution of the Electoral College the research shows that throughout American politics and history the Electoral College always had and has a role of great political and historical influence. Furthermore the Electoral College has also been a source of much political and constitutional debate. This is an intriguing constitutional needle in a political hay stack for the simple fact that something appears to be insignificant and inconsequential until its time for the national presidential election to roll around every four years. Thus the Electoral College takes front and center of the national political stage as the collective national eyes are all on the presidential race and the ever so magical number of 270. How the Electoral College factors into American politics has been the subject of much political discussion relevant to how the president is elected, how the American public’s voice is represented and how democratic of a political institution or representative system is the Electoral College. Through the sands of time of American history there has been camps of voices echoing concerns about the constitutional needle in a political hay stack of the Electoral College and its influential role in American politics.

scholarly journals Political Discussions on Social Media in Pakistan and Obstinate Partisanship

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 121-131
Author(s):  
Ifra Iftikhar ◽  
Irem Sultana ◽  
Malik Adnan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political News ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Political Talk

With the rise of social media over the last two decades, people have become more polarized and rigid in their views. Social interactions on social media networks are affecting political behaviors and making people obstinate partisans. The term obstinate partisanship was coined by Ardevol-Abreu and Gil de Zuniga (2020) and referred to the blind, unconditional loyalty to a certain political party. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of obstinate partisanship in Pakistani media users who are active consumers of political news and regularly engage in political discussions. This study seeks to investigate how significantly various factors impact obstinate partisanship. The factors studied are media use habits, affiliation with a political party, sociodemographic characteristics including age, gender, education, income, area of residence, and political discussion attributes. The survey data collected from the four major cities of Pakistan and their neighboring rural areas were used. The data revealed that the individuals who engage in political talk online and disagreements during discussions over political issues are more likely to remain unconditionally supportive of party policy and action regardless of their adequacy, the effectiveness of the policy and party performance and this disposition seems to increase with age.

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