Even with identical panels, replicating Megastudy depolarization effects proved unreliable.

Evidence

Second, our experiments did not replicate the magnitude of the effects observed in the original MegaStudy (two were weaker, while one was stronger), despite using the same survey panel. While we speculate that the heightened partisan tension during the 2024 presidential election may have muted treatment effects, or that interactivity greatly increased the effectiveness of such interventions, we cannot definitively explain the discrepancy. — Derek E. Holliday, Yphtach Lelkes, and Sean J. Westwood, Why Depolarization Is Hard, 76

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing later - whether the missing interactivity (reflection tasks) or election-cycle tension explains the replication gap would matter for the reader’s scalability argument.
• XREF: connects to: Stacking multiple depolarization interventions does not amplify their effect on out-party warmth. — Derek E. Holliday, Yphtach Lelkes, and Sean J. Westwood, Why Depolarization Is Hard: Evaluating…, 61; Interventions effective in controlled settings may fail to produce large-scale durable polarization change. — Derek E. Holliday, Yphtach Lelkes, and Sean J. Westwood, Why Depolarization Is Hard: Evaluating…, 73; The environmental double-standard effect failed to replicate across repeated samples.

Related

• Stacking multiple depolarization interventions does not amplify their effect on out-party warmth. (similarity 0.82)
• Depolarization interventions produce small, decaying effects that fail to scale or shift downstream attitudes (similarity 0.82)
• Interventions effective in controlled settings may fail to produce large-scale durable polarization change. (similarity 0.82)
• Depolarization interventions barely raise out-party warmth and show no gains from repetition. (similarity 0.80)
• Depolarization interventions work in lab settings but fall short of reversing societal polarization. (similarity 0.80)
• Controlled experiments may not predict real-world intervention effects (similarity 0.79)
• Derek E. Holliday, Yphtach Lelkes, and Sean J. Westwood — Why Depolarization Is Hard Evaluating Attempts to Decrease Partisan Animosity in America (similarity 0.79)
• Depolarization interventions produce only modest temporary effects on partisan animosity. (similarity 0.79)
• Studying interventions amid an election cycle is a stringent but possibly non-generalizable test. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• The environmental double-standard effect failed to replicate across repeated samples. #corroborates (0.82)