Description
By: Keith Payne
A leading social scientist explains the psychology of our current social divide and how understanding it can help reduce the conflicts it causes
There has been much written about the impact of polarization on elections, political parties, and policy outcomes. But Keith Payne’s goal is more personal: to focus on what our divisions mean for us as individuals, as families, and as communities. This book is about how ordinary people think about politics, why talking about it is so hard, and how we can begin to mend the personal bonds that are fraying for so many of us.
Drawing upon his own research and his experience growing up in a working class, conservative Christian family in small town Kentucky, Payne argues that there is a near-universal human tendency to believe that people who are different from us are irrational or foolish. The fundamental source of our division is our need to flexibly rationalize ideas in order to see ourselves as good people.
Understanding the psychology behind our political divide provides clues about how we can reduce the damage it is causing. It won’t allow us to undo our polarization overnight, but it can give us the tools to stop going around in circles in frustrating arguments. It can help us make better choices about how we engage in political debates, how policy makers and social media companies deal with misinformation, and how we deal with each other on social media. It can help us separate, if we choose to, our political principles from our personal relationships so that we can nurture both.
A leading social scientist explains the psychology of our current social divide and how understanding it can help reduce the conflicts it causes
There has been much written about the impact of polarization on elections, political parties, and policy outcomes. But Keith Payne’s goal is more personal: to focus on what our divisions mean for us as individuals, as families, and as communities. This book is about how ordinary people think about politics, why talking about it is so hard, and how we can begin to mend the personal bonds that are fraying for so many of us.
Drawing upon his own research and his experience growing up in a working class, conservative Christian family in small town Kentucky, Payne argues that there is a near-universal human tendency to believe that people who are different from us are irrational or foolish. The fundamental source of our division is our need to flexibly rationalize ideas in order to see ourselves as good people.
Understanding the psychology behind our political divide provides clues about how we can reduce the damage it is causing. It won’t allow us to undo our polarization overnight, but it can give us the tools to stop going around in circles in frustrating arguments. It can help us make better choices about how we engage in political debates, how policy makers and social media companies deal with misinformation, and how we deal with each other on social media. It can help us separate, if we choose to, our political principles from our personal relationships so that we can nurture both.
You may also like
熱銷中 Top Trending
![Press Start! #15 Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep! (Branches)-Fiction: 歷險科幻 Adventure & Science Fiction-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/PressStart_15MegaMoleGirlDigsDeep_Branches_{width}x.webp?v=1723696583)
Press Start! #15 Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep! (Branches)
Sale priceHK$47.00
Regular priceHK$98.00
In stock![Brown: My Alter Ego Is A Superhero Book 1 (Håkon Øvreås)-Fiction: 奇幻魔法 Fantasy & Magical-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/9781592702510_{width}x.jpg?v=1723792481)
Brown: My Alter Ego Is A Superhero Book 1 (Håkon Øvreås)
Sale priceFrom HK$64.00
Regular priceHK$80.00
In stock![Disney/Pixar Inside Out 2: Go to Sleep, Anxiety!-Children’s / Teenage fiction: General and modern fiction-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Disney_PixarInsideOut2GotoSleep_Anxiety_670b18f5-930c-40ef-bcdf-dcf5197fa045_{width}x.jpg?v=1721553025)
![Disney/Pixar Inside Out 2: Go to Sleep, Anxiety!-Children’s / Teenage fiction: General and modern fiction-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/71XM5Sx6svL._SX679_Disney_PixarInsideOut2_GotoSleep_Anxiety_{width}x.jpg?v=1723111108)
Disney/Pixar Inside Out 2: Go to Sleep, Anxiety!
Sale priceHK$115.00
Regular priceHK$180.00
In stock![Legends of Lotus Island #01 The Guardian Test (Christina Soontornvat)-Fiction: 奇幻魔法 Fantasy & Magical-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/9781339041032_{width}x.webp?v=1723792483)
Legends of Lotus Island #01 The Guardian Test (Christina Soontornvat)
Sale priceFrom HK$67.00
Regular priceHK$112.00
In stock![Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 Book Paperback Boxed Set (w/poster)-Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians_Collection_5_Book_3cff5df8-fe7d-4bd3-b22b-707c03d6b7d7_{width}x.webp?v=1723873642)
![Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 Book Paperback Boxed Set (w/poster)-Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians_Collection_5_Book_-5_d7a1823a-248b-4229-b85b-bc220e008346_{width}x.webp?v=1723873647)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 Book Paperback Boxed Set (w/poster)
Sale priceHK$287.00
Regular priceHK$450.00
In stock![Heroes of Olympus Paperback Boxed Set, The-10th Anniversary Edition-Children’s / Teenage fiction: Traditional stories-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/HeroesofOlympus_Collection_5Books_10thAnniversaryEdition_RickRiordan_{width}x.webp?v=1723882852)
![Heroes of Olympus Paperback Boxed Set, The-10th Anniversary Edition-Children’s / Teenage fiction: Traditional stories-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Heroes_of_Olympus_Collection_5_Books_10th_Anniversary_Edition_{width}x.webp?v=1723882856)
Heroes of Olympus Paperback Boxed Set, The-10th Anniversary Edition
Sale priceHK$319.00
Regular priceHK$500.00
In stock![Where Are the Great Pyramids? (Who | What | Where Series) PRHUS](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/WhereAretheGreatPyramids_{width}x.webp?v=1723885249)
Where Are the Great Pyramids? (Who | What | Where Series)
Sale priceHK$38.00
Regular priceHK$50.00
In stock![Where Is the Great Wall? (Who | What | Where Series) PRHUS](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/WhereIstheGreatWall_{width}x.webp?v=1723885293)
Where Is the Great Wall? (Who | What | Where Series)
Sale priceHK$38.00
Regular priceHK$50.00
In stock