On the heels of a rather ugly partisan debate that almost sank our economy comes this timely article in The Atlantic containing 6 structural reforms that would encourage more civil politics. As social psychologists, we would argue that situational fixes are often more effective than hoping that individuals will change through force of argument. Read more »
I was reading this debate on Politico about a recent uncivil email from Allen West to Debbie Wasserman Schultz, when I came across this survey on civility that I thought I'd share. Allegheny College commissioned Zogby to survey 1,000 representative individuals about civility. Read more »
A friend of mine recently forwarded me this article from Salon.com, remarking on the fact that it reminded him of the friendship I have with a conservative college classmate. Indeed, that classmate is one of the most giving people I know, which echoes this story, whereby good people can be found in any ideology. I encourage you to read the entire article, but here is a relevant excerpt: Read more »
I just finished the April 24th, Easter episode of This Week, where Christianne Amanpour made a point to ask several of her guests about civility and changing the tone in Washington. She seemed eager to revive a topic that has appeared to lose steam since the January attack on Gabrielle Giffords.
Social psychology might be one discipline where the best findings are some of the oldest, rather than the newest. Two basic principles of social psychology were illustrated in the recent budget deal, which averted a government shutdown. Read more »
Jon Stewart, who recently staged the Rally to Restore Sanity, which criticized the cable news "conflictonator" that exacerbates the partisan divide, was interviewed by Rachel Maddow, a host at MSNBC. Read more »
