The holidays are a time that brings people of different political and social beliefs together. Sometimes sitting down to a meal with loved ones can be full of fraught Interactions. KGNU’s Hannah Leigh Myers Spoke to Leaf Van Boven, a professor and researcher in the department Psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, about political polarization and how findings in his field of research can inform our conversational decision making this holiday season.
Dr. Van Boven said our biases can often lead us to believe that our perspective is based on logical reasoning, while our family member’s opposing perspective isn’t.
“On almost every kind of political bias that we look for, the motivated reasoning that we engage in is equally true for both Democrats and Republicans,” he said. He explained that we change our minds about important topics over years of mentally engaging with an issue, not typically overnight because of an interaction over a meal.
“For the most part, they’re thinking and reacting just the way that you are,” said Dr. Van Boven.
You can listen to the full conversation here:
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The Psychology of Talking Politics Over Your Holiday Meal, According to an Expert Hannah Leigh
