Science AMA Series: Hi, we’re political scientists who study if (and
how) people can be persuaded on political topics. Ask us anything!
Abstract
Hi reddit! In advance of this year’s national election, AAAS is bringing
together scientists who have studied how people make up their minds
about political issues and, once their opinions are set, how people can
change their views. Science Magazine has published a few articles on
this topic in 2016. One paper, by Noah Friedkin, explored the question
“how do some beliefs within groups persist in the face of social
pressure, whereas others change and, by changing, influence a cascade of
other beliefs?” Another written by two of us, David Broockman and
Joshua Kalla, describes our field experiment that showed that 1 in 10
Miami voters shifted their attitudes toward transgender individuals and
maintained those changed positions for 3 months. We are joined by Drs.
Samara Klar and Yanna Krupnikov, authors of “Independent Politics: How
American Disdain for Parties Leads to Political Inaction.” In the final
weekend before the election, we suspect that many family and friends
will be speaking about issues that are important to them. Ask us
anything on the science of political persuasion! Dr. David Broockman is
Assistant Professor of Political Economy, Graduate School of Business,
Stanford University Joshua Kalla is a PhD Candidate in Political Science
at University of California, Berkeley Dr. Samara Klar is Assistant
Professor of Political Science at University of Arizona. Dr. Yanna
Krupnikov is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political
Science at Stony Brook University. We’ll be back at noon EST (9 am PST,
4 pm UTC) to answer your questions, ask us anything!