0:00:11.388,0:00:14.444
So you probably have the sense,[br]as most people do,

0:00:14.468,0:00:18.124
that polarization[br]is getting worsse in our country,

0:00:18.148,0:00:21.604
that the divide[br]between the left and the right

0:00:21.628,0:00:25.164
is as bad as it's been[br]in really any of our lifetimes.

0:00:25.188,0:00:30.468
But you might also reasonably wonder[br]if research backs up your intuition.

0:00:31.188,0:00:35.868
And in a nutshell,[br]the answer is sadly yes.

0:00:35.892,0:00:37.455
(Laughter)

0:00:37.778,0:00:39.794
In study after study, we find

0:00:39.818,0:00:43.498
that liberals and conservatives[br]have grown further apart.

0:00:44.298,0:00:49.074
They increasingly wall themselves off[br]in these ideological silos,

0:00:49.098,0:00:53.234
consuming different news,[br]talking only to like-minded others

0:00:53.258,0:00:56.498
and more and more choosing[br]to live in different parts of the country.

0:00:57.578,0:01:00.794
And I think that[br]most alarming of all of it

0:01:00.818,0:01:04.617
is seeing this rising[br]animosity on both sides.

0:01:05.298,0:01:06.954
Liberals and conservatives,

0:01:06.978,0:01:08.874
Democrats and Republicans,

0:01:08.898,0:01:12.018
more and more they just[br]don't like one another.

0:01:13.178,0:01:15.194
You see it in many different ways.

0:01:15.218,0:01:18.874
They don't want to befriend one another.[br]They don't want to date one another.

0:01:18.898,0:01:22.194
If they do, if they find out,[br]they find each other less attractive,

0:01:22.218,0:01:25.314
and they more and more don't want[br]their children to marry someone

0:01:25.338,0:01:27.034
who supports the other party,

0:01:27.058,0:01:28.818
a particularly shocking statistic.

0:01:29.478,0:01:31.913
You know, in my lab,[br]the students that I work with,

0:01:31.937,0:01:33.954
we're talking about some social pattern --

0:01:33.978,0:01:37.514
I'm a movie buff, and so I'm often like,

0:01:37.538,0:01:40.498
what kind of movie are we in here[br]with this pattern?

0:01:40.648,0:01:43.928
So what kind of movie are we in[br]with political polarization?

0:01:44.648,0:01:47.368
Well, it could be a disaster movie.

0:01:48.448,0:01:50.128
It certainly seems like a disaster.

0:01:50.488,0:01:52.488
Could be a war movie.

0:01:53.144,0:01:54.344
Also fits.

0:01:55.048,0:01:58.864
But what I keep thinking is that[br]we're in a zombie apocalypse movie.

0:01:58.888,0:02:00.344
(Laughter)

0:02:00.368,0:02:02.664
Right? You know the kind.

0:02:02.688,0:02:05.104
There's people wandering around in packs,

0:02:05.128,0:02:06.904
not thinking for themselves,

0:02:06.928,0:02:08.544
seized by this mob mentality,

0:02:08.568,0:02:11.808
trying to spread their disease[br]and destroy society.

0:02:12.965,0:02:16.711
And if you're like me,[br]and you're a college-educated liberal --

0:02:16.735,0:02:19.933
and statistically, I'm guessing,[br]the majority of you ...

0:02:19.957,0:02:22.900
(Laughter)

0:02:22.924,0:02:24.074
are exactly that.

0:02:24.345,0:02:25.757
(Laughter)

0:02:25.908,0:02:27.644
And you probably think, as I do,

0:02:27.668,0:02:31.124
that you're the good guy[br]in the zombie apocalypse movie,

0:02:31.148,0:02:34.846
and all this hate and polarization,[br]it's being propagated by the other people,

0:02:34.870,0:02:36.070
the conservatives.

0:02:37.668,0:02:39.548
We're Brad Pitt, right?

0:02:40.228,0:02:43.124
Free-thinking, righteous,

0:02:43.148,0:02:45.336
just trying to hold on[br]to what we hold dear,

0:02:45.360,0:02:48.943
you know, not foot soldiers[br]in the army of the undead.

0:02:48.967,0:02:50.424
Not that.

0:02:50.448,0:02:51.648
Never that.

0:02:52.448,0:02:53.944
But here's the thing:

0:02:53.968,0:02:56.688
what movie do you suppose[br]they think they're in?

0:02:57.848,0:02:59.064
Right?

0:02:59.088,0:03:01.624
Well, they absolutely think[br]that they're the good guys

0:03:01.648,0:03:03.504
in the zombie apocalypse movie. Right?

0:03:03.528,0:03:06.504
And you'd better believe[br]that they think that they're Brad Pitt

0:03:06.528,0:03:08.648
and that we, we are the zombies.

0:03:11.488,0:03:13.848
And who's to say that they're wrong?

0:03:14.512,0:03:19.369
Look, they click on stupid internet links[br]that say stuff like that ...

0:03:19.393,0:03:22.359
We click on stupid internet links[br]that say stuff like this.

0:03:22.621,0:03:28.247
(Laughter)

0:03:28.430,0:03:31.383
They complain about living near us,

0:03:31.407,0:03:32.589
having to work with us,

0:03:32.613,0:03:34.827
even eating Thanksgiving dinner with us.

0:03:35.851,0:03:37.684
And we do all those same things.

0:03:37.708,0:03:38.858
Right?

0:03:39.510,0:03:40.795
Look, it's true.

0:03:41.018,0:03:42.922
The studies that I see on polarization

0:03:42.946,0:03:45.200
show that conservatives[br]look a little bit worse.

0:03:45.375,0:03:47.105
They look a little bit angrier,

0:03:47.129,0:03:48.827
a little more averse to compromise.

0:03:48.851,0:03:52.160
And we could tell ourselves that means[br]that this is not our problem.

0:03:52.184,0:03:53.605
That it's them doing it.

0:03:54.653,0:03:57.089
But I think that would be taking[br]the easy way out.

0:03:57.113,0:04:00.028
I think that the truth[br]is that we're all a part of this.

0:04:00.708,0:04:03.868
And the good side of that[br]is that we can be a part of the solution.

0:04:04.748,0:04:06.748
So what are we going to do?

0:04:07.788,0:04:12.044
What can we do to chip away[br]at polarization in everyday life?

0:04:12.068,0:04:15.884
What could we do to connect with[br]and communicate with

0:04:15.908,0:04:17.628
our political counterparts?

0:04:18.188,0:04:22.324
Well, these were exactly the questions[br]that I and my colleague Matt Feinberg

0:04:22.348,0:04:24.206
became fascinated with a few years ago,

0:04:24.230,0:04:26.430
and we started[br]doing research on this topic.

0:04:27.388,0:04:30.364
And one of the first things[br]that we discovered

0:04:30.388,0:04:33.844
that I think is really helpful[br]for understanding polarization

0:04:33.868,0:04:35.084
is to understand

0:04:35.108,0:04:39.525
that the political divide in our country[br]is undergirded by a deeper moral divide.

0:04:39.549,0:04:44.324
So one of the most robust findings[br]in the history of political psychology

0:04:44.348,0:04:48.044
is this pattern identified[br]by Jon Haidt and Jesse Graham,

0:04:48.068,0:04:49.284
psychologists,

0:04:49.308,0:04:53.324
that liberals and conservatives[br]tend to endorse different values

0:04:53.348,0:04:54.548
to different degrees.

0:04:55.068,0:05:00.564
So for example, we find that liberals[br]tend to endorse values like equality

0:05:00.588,0:05:04.244
and fairness and care[br]and protection from harm

0:05:04.268,0:05:06.404
more than conservatives do,

0:05:06.428,0:05:11.684
and conservatives tend to endorse[br]values like loyalty, patriotism,

0:05:11.708,0:05:15.164
respect for authority and moral purity

0:05:15.188,0:05:17.268
more than liberals do.

0:05:18.388,0:05:22.444
And Matt and I were thinking[br]that maybe this moral divide

0:05:22.468,0:05:25.564
might be helpful[br]for understanding how it is

0:05:25.588,0:05:28.004
that liberals and conservatives[br]talk to one another

0:05:28.028,0:05:30.444
and why they so often[br]seem to talk past one another

0:05:30.468,0:05:31.684
when they do.

0:05:31.708,0:05:33.684
So we conducted a study

0:05:33.708,0:05:36.804
where we recruited liberals to a study

0:05:36.828,0:05:39.284
where they were supposed[br]to write a persuasive essay

0:05:39.308,0:05:43.748
that would be compelling to a conservative[br]in support of same-sex marriage.

0:05:44.268,0:05:47.524
And what we found was that liberals[br]tended to make arguments

0:05:47.548,0:05:51.724
in terms of the liberal moral values[br]of equality and fairness.

0:05:51.748,0:05:53.484
So they said things like

0:05:53.988,0:05:57.364
"everyone should have the right[br]to love whoever they choose,"

0:05:57.388,0:05:59.964
and they -- "they" being gay Americans --

0:05:59.988,0:06:02.748
"deserve the same equal rights[br]as other Americans."

0:06:03.308,0:06:06.524
Overall, we found[br]that 69 percent of liberals

0:06:06.548,0:06:11.964
invoked one of the more liberal[br]moral values in constructing their essay,

0:06:11.988,0:06:15.684
and only nine percent invoked[br]one of the more conservative moral values,

0:06:15.708,0:06:19.124
even though they were supposed[br]to be trying to persuade conservatives.

0:06:19.148,0:06:23.444
And when we studied conservatives[br]and had them make persuasive arguments

0:06:23.468,0:06:26.364
in support of making English[br]the official language of the US,

0:06:26.388,0:06:28.924
a classically conservative[br]political position,

0:06:28.948,0:06:31.164
we found that they weren't[br]much better at this.

0:06:31.188,0:06:32.804
59 percent of them made arguments

0:06:32.828,0:06:35.524
in terms of one of the more[br]conservative moral values,

0:06:35.548,0:06:38.044
and just eight percent[br]invoked a liberal moral value,

0:06:38.068,0:06:41.428
even though they were supposed[br]to be targeting liberals for persuasion.

0:06:42.428,0:06:46.468
Now, you can see right away[br]why we're in trouble here. Right?

0:06:47.228,0:06:50.724
People's moral values,[br]they're their most deeply held beliefs.

0:06:50.748,0:06:54.148
People are willing[br]to fight and die for their values.

0:06:54.668,0:06:57.364
Why are they going to give that up[br]just to agree with you

0:06:57.388,0:07:00.924
on something that they don't particularly[br]want to agree with you on anyway?

0:07:00.948,0:07:04.204
If that persuasive appeal that[br]you're making to your Republican uncle

0:07:04.228,0:07:06.644
means that he doesn't[br]just have to change his view,

0:07:06.668,0:07:08.804
he's got to change[br]his underlying values too,

0:07:08.828,0:07:10.388
that's not going to go very far.

0:07:11.028,0:07:12.348
So what would work better?

0:07:13.148,0:07:17.444
Well, we believe it's a technique[br]that we call moral reframing,

0:07:17.468,0:07:20.084
and we've studied it[br]in a series of experiments.

0:07:20.108,0:07:21.604
In one of these experiments,

0:07:21.628,0:07:24.764
we recruited liberals[br]and conservatives to a study

0:07:24.788,0:07:27.084
where they read one of three essays

0:07:27.108,0:07:30.148
before having their environmental[br]attitudes surveyed.

0:07:30.588,0:07:32.084
And the first of these essays

0:07:32.108,0:07:35.484
was a relatively conventional[br]proenvironmental essay

0:07:35.508,0:07:39.524
that invoked the liberal values[br]of care and protection from harm.

0:07:39.548,0:07:42.084
It said things like[br]"in many important ways

0:07:42.108,0:07:44.924
we are causing real harm[br]to the places we live in,"

0:07:44.948,0:07:47.764
and "it is essential[br]that we take steps now

0:07:47.788,0:07:50.708
to prevent further destruction[br]from being done to our Earth."

0:07:51.668,0:07:53.084
Another group of participants

0:07:53.108,0:07:55.324
were assigned to read[br]a really different essay

0:07:55.348,0:07:59.788
that was designed to tap into[br]the conservative value of moral purity.

0:08:00.028,0:08:01.964
It was a proenvironmental essay as well,

0:08:01.988,0:08:03.484
and it said things like

0:08:03.508,0:08:07.748
"keeping our forests, drinking water,[br]and skies pure is of vital importance."

0:08:08.588,0:08:10.084
"We should regard the pollution

0:08:10.108,0:08:12.148
of the places we live in[br]to be disgusting."

0:08:12.748,0:08:14.844
And "reducing pollution[br]can help us preserve

0:08:14.868,0:08:18.028
what is pure and beautiful[br]about the places we live."

0:08:19.468,0:08:20.884
And then we had a third group

0:08:20.908,0:08:23.404
that were assigned[br]to read just a nonpolitical essay.

0:08:23.428,0:08:26.164
It was just a comparison group[br]so we could get a baseline.

0:08:26.188,0:08:28.141
And what we found when we surveyed people

0:08:28.165,0:08:30.364
about their environmental[br]attitudes afterwards,

0:08:30.388,0:08:33.323
we found that liberals,[br]it didn't matter what essay they read.

0:08:33.347,0:08:36.443
They tended to have highly[br]proenvironmental attitudes regardless.

0:08:36.467,0:08:38.884
Liberals are on board[br]for environmental protection.

0:08:38.908,0:08:40.124
Conservatives, however,

0:08:40.148,0:08:44.564
were significantly more supportive[br]of progressive environmental policies

0:08:44.588,0:08:46.124
and environmental protection

0:08:46.148,0:08:48.204
if they had read the moral purity essay

0:08:48.228,0:08:50.628
than if they read[br]one of the other two essays.

0:08:51.748,0:08:54.844
We even found that conservatives[br]who read the moral purity essay

0:08:54.868,0:08:58.364
were significantly more likely to say[br]that they believed in global warming

0:08:58.388,0:09:00.293
and were concerned about global warming,

0:09:00.317,0:09:03.044
even though this essay[br]didn't even mention global warming.

0:09:03.068,0:09:05.524
That's just a related environmental issue.

0:09:05.548,0:09:08.628
But that's how robust[br]this moral reframing effect was.

0:09:09.548,0:09:13.284
And we've studied this on a whole slew[br]of different political issues.

0:09:13.308,0:09:17.044
So if you want to move conservatives

0:09:17.068,0:09:20.164
on issues like same-sex marriage[br]or national health insurance,

0:09:20.188,0:09:23.644
it helps to tie these liberal[br]political issues to conservative values

0:09:23.668,0:09:25.410
like patriotism and moral purity.

0:09:26.188,0:09:28.284
And we studied it the other way too.

0:09:28.308,0:09:32.124
If you want to move liberals[br]to the right on conservative policy issues

0:09:32.148,0:09:36.474
like military spending and making English[br]the official language of the US,

0:09:36.498,0:09:38.154
you're going to be more persuasive

0:09:38.178,0:09:41.514
if you tie those conservative[br]policy issues to liberal moral values

0:09:41.538,0:09:43.418
like equality and fairness.

0:09:44.708,0:09:47.564
All these studies[br]have the same clear message:

0:09:47.588,0:09:50.524
if you want to persuade[br]someone on some policy,

0:09:50.548,0:09:54.388
it's helpful to connect that policy[br]to their underlying moral values.

0:09:55.527,0:09:59.284
And when you say it like that,[br]it seems really obvious. Right?

0:09:59.308,0:10:01.084
Like, why did we come here tonight?

0:10:01.108,0:10:02.324
Why --

0:10:02.348,0:10:03.884
(Laughter)

0:10:03.908,0:10:05.948
It's incredibly intuitive.

0:10:07.468,0:10:10.764
And even though it is,[br]it's something we really struggle to do.

0:10:10.788,0:10:14.644
You know, it turns out that when we go[br]to persuade somebody on a political issue,

0:10:14.668,0:10:17.404
we talk like we're speaking into a mirror.

0:10:17.428,0:10:21.804
We don't persuade so much[br]as we rehearse our own reasons

0:10:21.828,0:10:24.708
for why we believe[br]some sort of political position.

0:10:24.987,0:10:26.558
But, speaking as a liberal,

0:10:26.582,0:10:30.114
I believe that we're going to need[br]a whole new set of arguments,

0:10:30.138,0:10:32.373
if we're going to move[br]the next wave of people

0:10:32.397,0:10:36.754
on critical issues like climate change,[br]immigration and inequality.

0:10:37.476,0:10:39.690
And to come up with those arguments,

0:10:39.714,0:10:41.484
we're going to have to take the time

0:10:41.508,0:10:44.405
to really listen[br]to our conservative counterparts,

0:10:44.429,0:10:46.698
to understand what they value,

0:10:47.238,0:10:52.063
and then creatively think about[br]why they should come to agree with us,

0:10:52.714,0:10:55.811
and in a way that doesn't[br]involve them having to sacrifice

0:10:55.835,0:10:57.857
the things that they hold most dear.

0:10:59.268,0:11:03.284
We kept saying, when we were designing[br]these reframed moral arguments,

0:11:03.308,0:11:05.948
"empathy and respect,[br]empathy and respect."

0:11:06.508,0:11:07.964
If you can tap into that,

0:11:07.988,0:11:09.644
you can connect

0:11:09.668,0:11:12.468
and you might be able to persuade[br]somebody in this country.

0:11:13.028,0:11:17.748
So thinking, again,[br]about what movie we're in,

0:11:18.668,0:11:20.244
maybe I got carried away before.

0:11:20.268,0:11:22.228
Maybe it's not a zombie apocalypse movie.

0:11:22.988,0:11:24.908
Maybe instead it's a buddy cop movie.

0:11:25.508,0:11:27.524
(Laughter)

0:11:27.548,0:11:29.564
Just roll with it, just go with it please.

0:11:29.588,0:11:31.028
(Laughter)

0:11:31.948,0:11:34.644
You know the kind:[br]there's a white cop and a black cop,

0:11:34.668,0:11:36.804
or maybe a messy cop and an organized cop.

0:11:36.828,0:11:38.884
Whatever it is, they don't get along

0:11:38.908,0:11:40.194
because of this difference.

0:11:40.988,0:11:44.204
But in the end, when they have[br]to come together and they cooperate,

0:11:44.228,0:11:46.164
the solidarity that they feel,

0:11:46.188,0:11:49.828
it's greater because of that gulf[br]that they had to cross. Right?

0:11:50.748,0:11:52.724
And remember that in these movies,

0:11:52.748,0:11:55.644
it's usually worst in the second act

0:11:55.668,0:11:58.068
when our leads are further apart[br]than ever before.

0:11:58.908,0:12:01.244
And so maybe that's[br]where we are in this country,

0:12:01.268,0:12:03.444
late in the second act[br]of a buddy cop movie --

0:12:03.468,0:12:05.615
(Laughter)

0:12:06.068,0:12:09.250
torn apart but about[br]to come back together.

0:12:10.868,0:12:12.524
It sounds good,

0:12:12.548,0:12:14.404
but if we want it to happen,

0:12:14.428,0:12:17.148
I think the responsibility[br]is going to start with us.

0:12:17.988,0:12:20.148
So this is my call to you:

0:12:20.948,0:12:22.948
let's put this country back together.

0:12:24.548,0:12:27.604
Let's do it despite the politicians

0:12:27.628,0:12:30.484
and the media and Facebook and Twitter

0:12:30.508,0:12:32.044
and Congressional redistricting

0:12:32.068,0:12:34.788
and all of it,[br]all the things that divide us.

0:12:35.828,0:12:38.068
Let's do it because it's right.

0:12:39.388,0:12:43.804
And let's do it[br]because this hate and contempt

0:12:43.828,0:12:45.988
that flows through all of us every day

0:12:46.868,0:12:50.044
makes us ugly and it corrupts us,

0:12:50.068,0:12:53.388
and it threatens[br]the very fabric of our society.

0:12:55.428,0:12:58.084
We owe it to one another and our country

0:12:58.108,0:13:00.268
to reach out and try to connect.

0:13:01.468,0:13:04.628
We can't afford to hate them any longer,

0:13:05.668,0:13:07.868
and we can't afford[br]to let them hate us either.

0:13:09.348,0:13:10.708
Empathy and respect.

0:13:11.348,0:13:12.588
Empathy and respect.

0:13:13.388,0:13:17.188
If you think about it, it's the very least[br]that we owe our fellow citizens.

0:13:17.868,0:13:19.084
Thank you.

0:13:19.108,0:13:23.070
(Applause)