Fairness, Loyalty and Hate: a Multi Study on How Moral Primings and Cooperation Reduce Affective Polarization

How do moral intuitions interact with negative partisan affect? What types of interventions can reduce affective polarization? Depolarisation has received growing attention, but there is still much to learn about how it unfolds in new democracies. We test various depolarising messages in Brazil, also investigating whether the effectiveness of depolarisation is contingent upon moral intuitions. Affective polarization is broadly defined as the gap between the positive feelings individuals hold toward members of their own group—often defined by partisan identity—and the negative feelings they express toward members of an opposing partisan or social out-group. Morality is a type of core belief that is generally applicable to all human beings and has been evolutionarily developed within human societies to overcome problems of collective action. Considering the systemic risks entailed by unchecked, extreme affective polarization, scholars and practitioners on the field have devoted substantial resources to figuring out effective ways of reducing it. Yet, only a few of the depolarizing interventions have been tested outside the US. We conducted two survey experiments [Study 1: 1000 subjects randomly assigned to a depolarising condition (cooperation between in-group and out-group elites), or to a control condition; Study 2: 1800 subjects randomly assigned to receive one of two moral intuition primes and then assigned either one of three possible depolarisation messages or a pure control condition]. For Study 2, we replicated two depolarising messages commonly proven effective in other contexts: an appeal to a common identity (nationality) and emphasizing the value of democracy and mutual respect for political freedom. Moreover, we included another version of our cooperation treatment, departing from elite cooperation to interpersonal cooperation. Preliminary results suggest that cooperation is the most effective depolarising treatment, regardless of whether respondents observe inter-elite cooperation or are exposed to a simple vignette highlighting the importance of cooperation for human advancement. Other treatments appear to be non-significant. Moral intuitions do not directly influence affective polarisation, but we find evidence of moderation. Priming the fairness moral intuition strengthens the depolarizing effects of cooperation, while a loyalty intuition prime weakens it. Findings suggest that depolarising the electorate depends fundamentally on the behaviour of political elites and on broader attitudes about the value of cooperation itself for society.