In this episode of Outrage Science Bites, we discuss three important concepts related to outrage: cross-cutting social groups, affective polarization, and selective exposure.
Cross-cutting social groups are social groups that are not based on political affiliation. For example, a sports team or a religious group could be considered a cross-cutting social group. Research has shown that participating in cross-cutting social groups can help to reduce political polarization.
Affective polarization is a type of polarization that is based on negative emotions, such as dislike and distrust. Affective polarization is often more difficult to overcome than cognitive polarization, which is based on differences in beliefs.
Selective exposure is our tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs and avoid information that contradicts them. Selective exposure can lead us to live in echo chambers, where we are only exposed to information that reinforces our own views.
We discuss how these three concepts can contribute to outrage and what we can do to address them.
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