0:00:00.760,0:00:03.816
So you probably have the sense,[br]as most people do,

0:00:03.840,0:00:07.496
that polarization[br]is getting worse in our country,

0:00:07.520,0:00:10.976
that the divide[br]between the left and the right

0:00:11.000,0:00:14.536
is as bad as it's been[br]in really any of our lifetimes.

0:00:14.560,0:00:19.840
But you might also reasonably wonder[br]if research backs up your intuition.

0:00:20.560,0:00:25.240
And in a nutshell,[br]the answer is sadly yes.

0:00:26.920,0:00:28.936
In study after study, we find

0:00:28.960,0:00:32.640
that liberals and conservatives[br]have grown further apart.

0:00:33.440,0:00:38.216
They increasingly wall themselves off[br]in these ideological silos,

0:00:38.240,0:00:42.376
consuming different news,[br]talking only to like-minded others

0:00:42.400,0:00:45.640
and more and more choosing[br]to live in different parts of the country.

0:00:46.720,0:00:49.936
And I think that[br]most alarming of all of it

0:00:49.960,0:00:53.760
is seeing this rising[br]animosity on both sides.

0:00:54.440,0:00:56.096
Liberals and conservatives,

0:00:56.120,0:00:58.016
Democrats and Republicans,

0:00:58.040,0:01:01.160
more and more they just[br]don't like one another.

0:01:02.320,0:01:04.336
You see it in many different ways.

0:01:04.360,0:01:08.016
They don't want to befriend one another.[br]They don't want to date one another.

0:01:08.040,0:01:11.336
If they do, if they find out,[br]they find each other less attractive,

0:01:11.360,0:01:14.456
and they more and more don't want[br]their children to marry someone

0:01:14.480,0:01:16.176
who supports the other party,

0:01:16.200,0:01:17.960
a particularly shocking statistic.

0:01:19.640,0:01:22.456
You know, in my lab,[br]the students that I work with,

0:01:22.480,0:01:25.936
we're talking about[br]some sort of social pattern --

0:01:25.960,0:01:29.496
I'm a movie buff, and so I'm often like,

0:01:29.520,0:01:32.480
what kind of movie are we in here[br]with this pattern?

0:01:33.080,0:01:36.360
So what kind of movie are we in[br]with political polarization?

0:01:37.080,0:01:39.800
Well, it could be a disaster movie.

0:01:40.880,0:01:42.560
It certainly seems like a disaster.

0:01:42.920,0:01:44.920
Could be a war movie.

0:01:45.640,0:01:46.840
Also fits.

0:01:47.480,0:01:51.296
But what I keep thinking is that[br]we're in a zombie apocalypse movie.

0:01:51.320,0:01:52.776
(Laughter)

0:01:52.800,0:01:55.096
Right? You know the kind.

0:01:55.120,0:01:57.536
There's people wandering around in packs,

0:01:57.560,0:01:59.336
not thinking for themselves,

0:01:59.360,0:02:00.976
seized by this mob mentality

0:02:01.000,0:02:04.240
trying to spread their disease[br]and destroy society.

0:02:05.480,0:02:07.816
And you probably think, as I do,

0:02:07.840,0:02:11.296
that you're the good guy[br]in the zombie apocalypse movie,

0:02:11.320,0:02:15.016
and all this hate and polarization,[br]it's being propagated by the other people,

0:02:15.040,0:02:16.920
because we're Brad Pitt, right?

0:02:17.760,0:02:20.656
Free-thinking, righteous,

0:02:20.680,0:02:22.976
just trying to hold on[br]to what we hold dear,

0:02:23.000,0:02:26.576
you know, not foot soldiers[br]in the army of the undead.

0:02:26.600,0:02:28.056
Not that.

0:02:28.080,0:02:29.280
Never that.

0:02:30.080,0:02:31.576
But here's the thing:

0:02:31.600,0:02:34.320
what movie do you suppose[br]they think they're in?

0:02:35.480,0:02:36.696
Right?

0:02:36.720,0:02:39.256
Well, they absolutely think[br]that they're the good guys

0:02:39.280,0:02:41.136
in the zombie apocalypse movie. Right?

0:02:41.160,0:02:44.136
And you'd better believe[br]that they think that they're Brad Pitt

0:02:44.160,0:02:46.280
and that we, we are the zombies.

0:02:49.120,0:02:51.480
And who's to say that they're wrong?

0:02:52.440,0:02:55.560
I think that the truth is[br]that we're all a part of this.

0:02:56.240,0:02:59.400
And the good side of that[br]is that we can be a part of the solution.

0:03:00.280,0:03:02.280
So what are we going to do?

0:03:03.320,0:03:07.576
What can we do to chip away[br]at polarization in everyday life?

0:03:07.600,0:03:11.416
What could we do to connect with[br]and communicate with

0:03:11.440,0:03:13.160
our political counterparts?

0:03:13.720,0:03:17.856
Well, these were exactly the questions[br]that I and my colleague, Matt Feinberg,

0:03:17.880,0:03:19.738
became fascinated with a few years ago,

0:03:19.762,0:03:21.962
and we started[br]doing research on this topic.

0:03:22.920,0:03:25.896
And one of the first things[br]that we discovered

0:03:25.920,0:03:29.376
that I think is really helpful[br]for understanding polarization

0:03:29.400,0:03:30.616
is to understand

0:03:30.640,0:03:35.056
that the political divide in our country[br]is undergirded by a deeper moral divide.

0:03:35.080,0:03:39.856
So one of the most robust findings[br]in the history of political psychology

0:03:39.880,0:03:43.576
is this pattern identified[br]by Jon Haidt and Jesse Graham,

0:03:43.600,0:03:44.816
psychologists,

0:03:44.840,0:03:48.856
that liberals and conservatives[br]tend to endorse different values

0:03:48.880,0:03:50.080
to different degrees.

0:03:50.600,0:03:56.096
So for example, we find that liberals[br]tend to endorse values like equality

0:03:56.120,0:03:59.776
and fairness and care[br]and protection from harm

0:03:59.800,0:04:01.936
more than conservatives do.

0:04:01.960,0:04:07.216
And conservatives tend to endorse[br]values like loyalty, patriotism,

0:04:07.240,0:04:10.696
respect for authority and moral purity

0:04:10.720,0:04:12.800
more than liberals do.

0:04:13.920,0:04:17.976
And Matt and I were thinking[br]that maybe this moral divide

0:04:18.000,0:04:21.096
might be helpful[br]for understanding how it is

0:04:21.120,0:04:23.536
that liberals and conservatives[br]talk to one another

0:04:23.560,0:04:25.976
and why they so often[br]seem to talk past one another

0:04:26.000,0:04:27.216
when they do.

0:04:27.240,0:04:29.216
So we conducted a study

0:04:29.240,0:04:32.336
where we recruited liberals to a study

0:04:32.360,0:04:34.816
where they were supposed[br]to write a persuasive essay

0:04:34.840,0:04:39.280
that would be compelling to a conservative[br]in support of same-sex marriage.

0:04:39.800,0:04:43.056
And what we found was that liberals[br]tended to make arguments

0:04:43.080,0:04:47.256
in terms of the liberal moral values[br]of equality and fairness.

0:04:47.280,0:04:49.016
So they said things like,

0:04:49.040,0:04:52.416
"Everyone should have the right[br]to love whoever they choose,"

0:04:52.440,0:04:55.016
and, "They" -- they being gay Americans --

0:04:55.040,0:04:57.800
"deserve the same equal rights[br]as other Americans."

0:04:58.360,0:05:01.576
Overall, we found[br]that 69 percent of liberals

0:05:01.600,0:05:07.016
invoked one of the more liberal[br]moral values in constructing their essay,

0:05:07.040,0:05:10.736
and only nine percent invoked[br]one of the more conservative moral values,

0:05:10.760,0:05:14.176
even though they were supposed[br]to be trying to persuade conservatives.

0:05:14.200,0:05:18.496
And when we studied conservatives[br]and had them make persuasive arguments

0:05:18.520,0:05:21.416
in support of making English[br]the official language of the US,

0:05:21.440,0:05:23.976
a classically conservative[br]political position,

0:05:24.000,0:05:26.216
we found that they weren't[br]much better at this.

0:05:26.240,0:05:27.856
59 percent of them made arguments

0:05:27.880,0:05:30.576
in terms of one of the more[br]conservative moral values,

0:05:30.600,0:05:33.096
and just eight percent[br]invoked a liberal moral value,

0:05:33.120,0:05:36.480
even though they were supposed[br]to be targeting liberals for persuasion.

0:05:37.480,0:05:41.520
Now, you can see right away[br]why we're in trouble here. Right?

0:05:42.280,0:05:45.776
People's moral values,[br]they're their most deeply held beliefs.

0:05:45.800,0:05:49.200
People are willing[br]to fight and die for their values.

0:05:49.720,0:05:52.416
Why are they going to give that up[br]just to agree with you

0:05:52.440,0:05:55.976
on something that they don't particularly[br]want to agree with you on anyway?

0:05:56.000,0:05:59.256
If that persuasive appeal that[br]you're making to your Republican uncle

0:05:59.280,0:06:01.696
means that he doesn't[br]just have to change his view,

0:06:01.720,0:06:03.886
he's got to change[br]his underlying values, too,

0:06:03.910,0:06:05.470
that's not going to go very far.

0:06:06.080,0:06:07.400
So what would work better?

0:06:08.200,0:06:12.496
Well, we believe it's a technique[br]that we call moral reframing,

0:06:12.520,0:06:15.136
and we've studied it[br]in a series of experiments.

0:06:15.160,0:06:16.656
In one of these experiments,

0:06:16.680,0:06:19.816
we recruited liberals[br]and conservatives to a study

0:06:19.840,0:06:22.136
where they read one of three essays

0:06:22.160,0:06:25.200
before having their environmental[br]attitudes surveyed.

0:06:25.640,0:06:27.136
And the first of these essays

0:06:27.160,0:06:30.536
was a relatively conventional[br]pro-environmental essay

0:06:30.560,0:06:34.576
that invoked the liberal values[br]of care and protection from harm.

0:06:34.600,0:06:37.136
It said things like,[br]"In many important ways

0:06:37.160,0:06:39.976
we are causing real harm[br]to the places we live in,"

0:06:40.000,0:06:42.816
and, "It is essential[br]that we take steps now

0:06:42.840,0:06:45.760
to prevent further destruction[br]from being done to our Earth."

0:06:47.120,0:06:48.536
Another group of participants

0:06:48.560,0:06:50.776
were assigned to read[br]a really different essay

0:06:50.800,0:06:55.240
that was designed to tap into[br]the conservative value of moral purity.

0:06:56.190,0:06:58.176
It was a pro-environmental essay as well,

0:06:58.200,0:06:59.696
and it said things like,

0:06:59.720,0:07:03.960
"Keeping our forests, drinking water,[br]and skies pure is of vital importance."

0:07:05.000,0:07:06.496
"We should regard the pollution

0:07:06.520,0:07:08.560
of the places we live in[br]to be disgusting."

0:07:09.160,0:07:11.256
And, "Reducing pollution[br]can help us preserve

0:07:11.280,0:07:14.440
what is pure and beautiful[br]about the places we live."

0:07:15.880,0:07:17.296
And then we had a third group

0:07:17.320,0:07:19.816
that were assigned[br]to read just a nonpolitical essay.

0:07:19.840,0:07:22.576
It was just a comparison group[br]so we could get a baseline.

0:07:22.600,0:07:24.553
And what we found when we surveyed people

0:07:24.577,0:07:26.776
about their environmental[br]attitudes afterwards,

0:07:26.800,0:07:29.736
we found that liberals,[br]it didn't matter what essay they read.

0:07:29.760,0:07:32.856
They tended to have highly[br]pro-environmental attitudes regardless.

0:07:32.880,0:07:35.296
Liberals are on board[br]for environmental protection.

0:07:35.320,0:07:36.536
Conservatives, however,

0:07:36.560,0:07:40.976
were significantly more supportive[br]of progressive environmental policies

0:07:41.000,0:07:42.536
and environmental protection

0:07:42.560,0:07:44.616
if they had read the moral purity essay

0:07:44.640,0:07:47.040
than if they read[br]one of the other two essays.

0:07:48.160,0:07:51.256
We even found that conservatives[br]who read the moral purity essay

0:07:51.280,0:07:54.776
were significantly more likely to say[br]that they believed in global warming

0:07:54.800,0:07:56.705
and were concerned about global warming,

0:07:56.729,0:07:59.456
even though this essay[br]didn't even mention global warming.

0:07:59.480,0:08:01.936
That's just a related environmental issue.

0:08:01.960,0:08:05.040
But that's how robust[br]this moral reframing effect was.

0:08:05.960,0:08:09.696
And we've studied this on a whole slew[br]of different political issues.

0:08:09.720,0:08:13.456
So if you want to move conservatives

0:08:13.480,0:08:16.576
on issues like same-sex marriage[br]or national health insurance,

0:08:16.600,0:08:20.056
it helps to tie these liberal[br]political issues to conservative values

0:08:20.080,0:08:22.880
like patriotism and moral purity.

0:08:23.800,0:08:25.896
And we studied it the other way, too.

0:08:25.920,0:08:29.736
If you want to move liberals[br]to the right on conservative policy issues

0:08:29.760,0:08:34.376
like military spending and making English[br]the official language of the US,

0:08:34.400,0:08:36.056
you're going to be more persuasive

0:08:36.080,0:08:39.416
if you tie those conservative[br]policy issues to liberal moral values

0:08:39.440,0:08:41.320
like equality and fairness.

0:08:42.640,0:08:45.496
All these studies[br]have the same clear message:

0:08:45.520,0:08:48.456
if you want to persuade[br]someone on some policy,

0:08:48.480,0:08:52.320
it's helpful to connect that policy[br]to their underlying moral values.

0:08:53.520,0:08:55.696
And when you say it like that

0:08:55.720,0:08:57.216
it seems really obvious. Right?

0:08:57.240,0:08:59.016
Like, why did we come here tonight?

0:08:59.040,0:09:00.256
Why --

0:09:00.280,0:09:01.816
(Laughter)

0:09:01.840,0:09:03.880
It's incredibly intuitive.

0:09:05.400,0:09:08.696
And even though it is,[br]it's something we really struggle to do.

0:09:08.720,0:09:12.576
You know, it turns out that when we go[br]to persuade somebody on a political issue,

0:09:12.600,0:09:15.336
we talk like we're speaking into a mirror.

0:09:15.360,0:09:19.736
We don't persuade so much[br]as we rehearse our own reasons

0:09:19.760,0:09:22.640
for why we believe[br]some sort of political position.

0:09:23.400,0:09:27.816
We kept saying when we were designing[br]these reframed moral arguments,

0:09:27.840,0:09:30.480
"Empathy and respect,[br]empathy and respect."

0:09:31.040,0:09:32.496
If you can tap into that,

0:09:32.520,0:09:34.176
you can connect

0:09:34.200,0:09:37.000
and you might be able to persuade[br]somebody in this country.

0:09:37.560,0:09:39.976
So thinking again

0:09:40.000,0:09:42.280
about what movie we're in,

0:09:43.200,0:09:44.776
maybe I got carried away before.

0:09:44.800,0:09:46.760
Maybe it's not a zombie apocalypse movie.

0:09:47.520,0:09:49.440
Maybe instead it's a buddy cop movie.

0:09:50.040,0:09:52.056
(Laughter)

0:09:52.080,0:09:54.096
Just roll with it, just go with it please.

0:09:54.120,0:09:55.560
(Laughter)

0:09:56.480,0:09:59.176
You know the kind:[br]there's a white cop and a black cop,

0:09:59.200,0:10:01.336
or maybe a messy cop and an organized cop.

0:10:01.360,0:10:03.416
Whatever it is, they don't get along

0:10:03.440,0:10:04.726
because of this difference.

0:10:05.520,0:10:08.736
But in the end, when they have[br]to come together and they cooperate,

0:10:08.760,0:10:10.696
the solidarity that they feel,

0:10:10.720,0:10:14.360
it's greater because of that gulf[br]that they had to cross. Right?

0:10:15.280,0:10:17.256
And remember that in these movies,

0:10:17.280,0:10:20.176
it's usually worst in the second act

0:10:20.200,0:10:22.600
when our leads are further apart[br]than ever before.

0:10:23.440,0:10:25.776
And so maybe that's[br]where we are in this country,

0:10:25.800,0:10:27.976
late in the second act[br]of a buddy cop movie --

0:10:28.000,0:10:30.576
(Laughter)

0:10:30.600,0:10:33.680
torn apart but about[br]to come back together.

0:10:35.400,0:10:37.056
It sounds good,

0:10:37.080,0:10:38.936
but if we want it to happen,

0:10:38.960,0:10:41.680
I think the responsibility[br]is going to start with us.

0:10:42.520,0:10:44.680
So this is my call to you:

0:10:45.480,0:10:47.480
let's put this country back together.

0:10:49.080,0:10:52.136
Let's do it despite the politicians

0:10:52.160,0:10:55.016
and the media and Facebook and Twitter

0:10:55.040,0:10:56.576
and Congressional redistricting

0:10:56.600,0:10:59.320
and all of it,[br]all the things that divide us.

0:11:00.360,0:11:02.600
Let's do it because it's right.

0:11:03.920,0:11:08.336
And let's do it[br]because this hate and contempt

0:11:08.360,0:11:10.520
that flows through all of us every day

0:11:11.400,0:11:14.576
makes us ugly and it corrupts us,

0:11:14.600,0:11:17.920
and it threatens[br]the very fabric of our society.

0:11:19.960,0:11:22.616
We owe it to one another and our country

0:11:22.640,0:11:24.800
to reach out and try to connect.

0:11:26.000,0:11:29.160
We can't afford to hate them any longer,

0:11:30.200,0:11:32.400
and we can't afford[br]to let them hate us either.

0:11:33.880,0:11:35.240
Empathy and respect.

0:11:35.880,0:11:37.120
Empathy and respect.

0:11:37.920,0:11:41.720
If you think about it, it's the very least[br]that we owe our fellow citizens.

0:11:42.400,0:11:43.616
Thank you.

0:11:43.640,0:11:48.325
(Applause)