Mitigating Partisan Political Intolerance: A Randomized Classroom Intervention

• In Event: Experimental Research on Partisan Polarisation and Misinformation

Abstract

Partisan political intolerance, that is political intolerance targeted at opposing partisans, is an important factor in explaining partisan behavior and the current partisan political landscape. In a set of randomized experiments, utilizing the natural classroom setting of sections, I expose students at the University of California Irvine to a curriculum designed to lower the levels of partisan political intolerance. The primary goal of this project is to determine if partisan political intolerance is malleable in the same way that traditional political intolerance toward extremist groups has been shown to be (Bird et al. 1994). If successful, this treatment and similar treatments may be a viable way to combat recent antidemocratic trends in American politics. If the treatment is not successful then it may imply that partisan political intolerance is more resilient to moderation than traditional political intolerance.

Author

• Kyle McWagner, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee