Spend any time scrolling through social media or news sites, and it can feel like America is in a state of constant conflict. Partisanship is high, and trust in institutions is low. But a closer look at political debate shows that, while negative rhetoric often gets the most attention, it is not typical of all political debate.
Effective political debates require participants to articulate their positions clearly, support their arguments with evidence and engage in respectful discourse that fosters a better understanding of complex issues, encourages compromise and helps shape public policy. Unfortunately, most Americans believe that this is rarely the case. In fact, according to research coauthored by Modupe Akinola and Sheena Iyengar, both professors of management at Columbia Business School, the average American misperceives both the frequency and format of political debate.
The study involved a nationwide sample of more than 2,300 individuals interviewed on their perceptions of debate and their attitudes toward political engagement and democracy. Participants were also asked to watch a video of the first presidential debate in 1956 between Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. This was a relatively restrained debate, with both candidates taking similar positions on school integration and atomic energy.
In their analysis, the researchers found that people greatly overestimate how frequently politicians argue with one another and how much time is spent debating each issue. They also overestimate the amount of time each candidate is given to discuss a question and how long it takes to complete a debate. To address these misperceptions, the authors suggest that future research should focus on educating people about how to understand and evaluate debates. They also argue that adjusting these perceptions could increase hope in the democratic process, which has been shown to predict voting behavior.
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