Political Extremism Is Supported by an Illusion of Understanding
Fernbach, Rogers, Fox & Sloman (2013) · Psychological Science, 24(6)
We use this paper in 1 place in the academy · 1 stated limit
What other researchers dispute
The first study reported that asking people to explain step by step how a policy works made their position less extreme. A later study by one of the original authors (Sloman & Vives, 2022) found the effect was smaller and less consistent than the first paper suggested.
What the study found
Asking people to explain step by step how a policy would work made them feel they understood it less, and made their position less extreme. Asking them to list reasons did neither.
What the study cannot prove
See the next section. A 2022 study found this only works for arguments about what a policy would do, not for arguments about right and wrong.
Where we use it
We use this paper in 1 place in the academy. If the paper turned out to be wrong, we would have to change everything in this list.
Other papers used in the same places
These papers are used in the same topics and videos as this one. That does not mean the papers agree with each other. It only means that the same exercises use both.
Durably Reducing Transphobia: A Field Experiment on Door-to-Door Canvassing
Broockman & Kalla (2016)Is Political Extremism Supported by an Illusion of Understanding?
Sloman & Vives (2022)Conversational Receptiveness: Improving Engagement with Opposing Views
Yeomans, Minson, Collins, Chen & Gino (2020)Research
A real study. We tell you what it found, how many people were in it, and what it can't prove.
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