Exposing people to opposing viewpoints increases rather than reduces polarization

Evidence

So, what did the researchers find? It turns out that simply disrupting ‘selective exposure’ by increasing visibility of content from the ‘other side’ is not always a good thing! At the end of the experiment, Republicans became more conservative in their attitudes (rather than more liberal) and Democrats became more liberal (rather than conservative) albeit to a lesser extent. The end result was greater not less polarization. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 453

Categorization

• XREF: Directly challenges assumptions behind cross-cutting exposure / contact hypothesis literatures and common ‘more debate fixes things’ intuitions. — connects to: Echo chambers amplify beliefs by sealing people off from counter-content — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 390; Exposure to opposing political views often increases rather than reduces polarization. — , The Braided Reading EPUB: 5-Year…, 1475; Presenting disconfirming evidence to partisans strengthens rather than weakens their views — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 132 (+10 more)
• SEED: Angle: why content-neutral exposure to the ‘other side’ backfires — the difference between information diversity and engagement design.

Broader Connections

• Exposure to opposing political views often increases rather than reduces polarization. #corroborates (1.00) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 1475
• Presenting disconfirming evidence to partisans strengthens rather than weakens their views #corroborates (0.92) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 132