There is a particular kind of conversation that never goes anywhere. You raise a concern, offer a counterpoint, or simply ask a question — and the response you receive has nothing to do with what you actually said. The temperature drops. Suddenly you are not engaging with an idea. You are being assessed as a person, and the verdict is already in. I have been thinking about why that happens. Not politically. Psychologically. Philosophically. Because this phenomenon has a shape, and it has been understood for a very long time. We just do not talk about it plainly anymore.
Tag Archives: political psychology
The Psychology of Political Conviction: Why Facts Often Fail to Change Minds
It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared a psychology-related write-up. Recently, I saw a clip of liberal commentary that prompted a realization: even many otherwise balanced, reasonable people don’t fully understand what’s happening in the psyches of those on the radical ends of the political spectrum. And this phenomenon is not confined to oneContinueContinue reading “The Psychology of Political Conviction: Why Facts Often Fail to Change Minds”