COGNITIONCan Empathic
Concern Actually
Increase Political
Polarization?
Research suggests that those who display
the most concern for others are also the most
socially polarizedI
magine you’re walking home late at night, and
you see a poor, defenseless man being being
bullied and called horrible names. Things start
to escalate, and the crowd starts pushing him
around, knocking off his hat and screaming at him
more loudly. The man looks scared and calls out to
you for help. Think about how you feel.
Now imagine that as you get closer, you see
a MAGA hat on the ground lying right next to the
guy. It’s clear that the crowd had thrown his hat
on the ground as they continue to taunt him and
make fun of him for being a Trump supporter.
Does that change how you feel?
Partisan politics in the U.S. is increasingly
becoming a matter of “us” versus “them.” While
the issues themselves haven’t necessarily becomemore polarized, our identities have become
more tied to our politics. This has resulted in
“a nation that agrees on many things but is bitterly
divided nonetheless.”
One recent survey found that among those
who are highly engaged in politics, 70 percent ofDemocrats and 62 percent of Republicans say
they are “afraid” of the other party, and a near ma-
jority of Democrats and Republicans report being
angry with the opposing party and see the oppos-
ing party as a threat to the nation’s well-being.
Barack Obama has proposed that a major ROY SCOTT GETTY IMAGESScott Barry Kaufman is a psychologist at Columbia University exploring
intelligence, creativity, personality and well-being. In addition to writing the
column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American, he hosts The Psychology Podcast
and is author and/or editor of eight books, including Wired to Create: Unravelling
the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire) and Ungifted:
Intelligence Redefined. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.comOPINION