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Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a tool that measures when people engage in dialog across political divides. The results show that personal factors play a greater role in people’s willingness to engage in dialog than the controversial nature of a topic.
“Democracy thrives on political discourse,” says Dr Melissa Jauch, a research associate in the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Basel. “It is therefore essential in a democracy that people talk to each other. This helps to understand the other side better and, in the best case, to bridge political divides. On the other hand, it’s also a chance to critically examine one’s own views.”
At the same time, increasing political polarization means that many people shy away from confrontation with those who think differently, whether out of fear of conflict or out of a need to protect their self-esteem. “It is therefore important to understand the circumstances under which people are willing to talk to people who think differently,” says Jauch.
The postdoc investigated this question together with other researchers in social psychology and recently published the results in the journal Political Psychology. A total of four studies were conducted with students from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel and with sample groups in the US and the UK.
Interest in other opinions
To measure willingness to engage in discussion, the Basel research team has developed its own measuring tool called WEDO (Willingness to engage with differently minded others). The way it works is simple: using predefined hypothetical scenarios, the study participants first indicate their attitude towards a certain topic – such as sustainability or immigration – on a multi-point scale.
In a second step, they are asked to put together a hypothetical discussion group. In doing so, they define the range of opinions that they consider acceptable in this group. For example, a participant may exclude people with extremely different opinions, but allow moderately different positions. WEDO therefore does not just measure whether someone is in favor of dialog or rejects it. Rather, the tool captures the full range of opinions that a person is willing to accept.
What distinguishes open-minded people
The study shows that people who are open to those with different opinions tend to think more analytically and have a general need to get to the bottom of things. “People who tend to think in black and white and rely more on their gut feeling, however, are less willing to engage in dialog,” reports Jauch.
The social psychologist was surprised to find that, according to the studies, it does not matter whether a topic is politically controversial when it comes to people’s willingness to engage in dialog. “We assumed that differing opinions would tend to be avoided when it came to controversial topics. This did not prove to be the case; on the contrary: according to one study, people are more willing to engage with other opinions when it comes to controversial issues.”
Studies continue
The studies are not yet complete, says Melissa Jauch. There are still a number of open questions that need to be investigated in more detail: why are people sometimes more willing to engage in dialog when it comes to controversial topics? What context is conducive to political discussion? Are there other personality traits besides analytical and intuitive thinking styles that influence people’s willingness to engage in dialog? And what role do stereotypes play?
However, WEDO already offers several advantages. Compared to behavioral studies, the measuring tool saves time and money and can be easily adapted to different topics and contexts. It also allows for a nuanced assessment of the range of opinions that people are willing to engage with – thus helping to identify the factors that can bridge political divides.
Melissa Jauch et al.
How deep a divide do we tolerate? Measuring the willingness to engage with differently minded others (WEDO)
Political Psychology (2025),
doi: 10.1111/pops.70086
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