3/6/18

Demonizing the Opposition

One of the first things you learn in social psychology is how easily we group people into "US" and "THEM".  In-groups and out-groups. There's probably a survival mechanism at work here - we bond together for safety with those who are like us in some way because it increases our likelihood of survival.  But we do see each group differently.

One of the biggest differences is that we see our guys as individuals, with varying skills and opinions and actions, while those other guys over there are all the same.   The formal term is the "outgroup homogeneity effect". Drop that into the conversation if you want to impress someone at your next cocktail party.  

Recently, though, this has taken on even more of a political flavor. The result is a demonization of the opposition, to the detriment of useful conversations and helpful problem solving. 

"Those stupid, bleeding-heart liberals." 

"Those evil, money-hungry Republicans."

I came across a recent article in the January edition of Political Psychology that bears this out and ties it to something called Implicit Follower Theory.  What the researchers found is that we see followers of our own political viewpoint as enthusiastic, industrious and good citizens.  The other guys are conformists, incompetent and insubordinate.  In turn, this leads to two qualitatively different strategies in trying to change opinions.  If we’re dealing with our own guys, our favorite strategies involve persuasion.  Lay out the facts and try to change their minds. Sadly, the option of choice for the other guys is coercion instead.  One of my favorite people sometimes says, "I'd like to smack those guys till they can see what's real and what's not." Think how useful that'll be!

Those notions on how to change the mind of the opposition are about as successful as the guy below. And for the same reason: they’re driven by faulty perceptions, not reality. We can do better.