Citation

Wojcieszak M, Price V. Polit. Psychol. 2010; 31(3): 315-339.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, International Society of Political Psychology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9221.2009.00753.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study draws on a sample of participants in online groups that discussed legalization of same‐sex marriage, to examine whether exposure to perceived disagreement decreases—as the deliberative theorists hope—or rather increases—as the research on confirmation bias predicts—strongly held predilections. Overall, participants' views towards same‐sex marriage and sexual minority rights remained largely unchanged after deliberating, regardless of the ideological composition of their groups. Consistent with the confirmation bias model, those who strongly opposed same‐sex marriage and sexual minority rights prior to the discussions and who perceived that others disagreed with them became even more opposed, and this effect was not a short‐term shift. Strong proponents, on the other hand, did not polarize in their views, but instead became slightly less favorable towards same‐sex marriage and sexual minority rights as a result of disagreement. Implications of these findings for deliberation of contentious issues are discussed.