Opinion Science

Kurt Gray studies our moral minds and how we grapple with everyday ethics. In his new book, Outraged, he explores the deep psychology of human nature and what it means for how we navigate politically divisive times. In our conversation, we do a deep dive into his perspective that morality is fundamentally about our ideas of harm, which conflicts with how other theories talk about morality. We also get into what it means for concepts to shift with time or circumstance.If you like this conversation, check out other episodes with moral psychologists whose views differ from Kurt's: Episode 47: Moral Foundations & Political Opinion with Jesse GrahamEpisode 81: Moral Language with Morteza DehghaniFor a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ and follow @OpinionSciPod on Twitter.

Sandra Matz is a computational social scientist at Columbia Business School. She uses big data to understand people and what motivates them to act. And she has a new book out! It's Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior, and it's an enjoyable, easy-to-read introduction to what your online data say about who you are and how communicators can use those insights to serve up compelling content--for better or worse.At the top of the show, I also mention a big new academic book I edited with Richard Petty and Jake Teeny: The Handbook of Personalized Persuasion: Theory and Application.For a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ and follow @OpinionSciPod on Twitter.

Angelina Lippert is the Executive Director and Curator at Poster House in New York City. She is an expert when it comes to the use of posters as a tool for mass communication and persuasion. We talk about what a poster is, the history of posters as a medium, the social effects they have, and why we should still care about posters in the digital age.At the top of the show, we hear from Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. He's a letterpress printer who puts ink to paper to spread messages about social justice. His beautiful body of work was recently showcased in the book Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer (Letterform Archive, 2024).For a real crossover, you can check out Angelina's 2020-21 exhibition of Amos' work at Poster House: The Letterpress Posters of Amos KennedyFor a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ and follow @OpinionSciPod on Twitter.

In this engaging discussion, Joe Siev, a postdoctoral fellow at the Darden School of Business, delves into the intriguing link between ambivalence and extreme political behavior. He reveals how mixed feelings can lead individuals to take decisive yet extreme actions, especially during crises like COVID-19. Joe also explores the role of cognitive dissonance and how our perceptions and expectations shape emotional responses. This conversation challenges traditional views on ambivalence, shedding light on its complex dynamics in various decision-making contexts.

*If you downloaded this episode early, the wrong file was uploaded. Sorry! We're all good now.Colin Wayne Leach is a social psychologist who also wears a bunch of other social science hats. He approaches the social world by appreciating its nature as a system of interconnected parts. He's made strides in a lot of research areas, including emotion, prejudice, and morality.In our conversation, we focus on his work on protest as a vehicle for social change. He shares how he thinks about protest and the system it's embedded in, and walks us through what protest is and how we can understand it better.If you're interested to learn more, you can read a great recent summary of Colin's perspective in Group Processes & Intergroup Relations (Leach et al., 2024)For a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ and follow @OpinionSciPod on Twitter.

Dr. Richard Petty is a professor of psychology at Ohio State University. He's probably best known for co-developing the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion (but he's done a lot of other stuff, too). He was also my advisor in grad school.In the last episode of Opinion Science, Rich lent his voice to telling the story of the ELM. Go check that out if you haven't already. But my full conversation with Rich was also great and went in a few directions that just didn't fit into a general intro to the ELM. So, I present that full interview here. It gets a little inside baseball at some points, so be aware of that. But it's an interesting glimpse at the random ride that a career in science can be and the number of lucky moments that can steer the wheel.For a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ and follow @OpinionSciPod on Twitter.

Rich Petty is a psychology professor at Ohio State University, known for co-developing the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion. Pablo Briñol, from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, contributes to the self-validation hypothesis. They discuss the evolution of persuasion research from chaotic beginnings to a structured theory. Personal anecdotes reveal the impact of WWII propaganda on their theories. The importance of motivation and message quality in persuasion processes is emphasized, alongside the challenges of academic journeys that shaped their groundbreaking work.

Researchers Sarah Gaither and Analia Albuja discuss the impact of random roommate assignments on students' social networks. They explore how diverse interactions can reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations, sharing insights from their recent study at Duke University. The podcast delves into the dynamics of roommate interactions, study motivations, and strategies to address bias in academic and workplace settings.

Dave Fleischer, a pioneer of deep canvassing in political organizing, shares insights from his impactful work. He dives into how empathetic conversations can change minds on complex topics like transgender rights. Fleischer discusses his roots in activism, the importance of genuine human connection, and effective communication strategies that prioritize kindness. The power of personal stories and open dialogue is emphasized as a way to bridge divides and create lasting change in political attitudes. Fascinating examples highlight the effectiveness of this innovative approach.

Christian Wheeler studies the intersection of opinions, communication, and personal identity. He’s a professor of management and marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In our conversation, we talk about the quirks of teaching in a business school, the promise of improv exercises for learning life skills, and his new research on the reputational benefits (or not) of being good at self-control and willing to listen to people with diverse viewpoints (Hussein & Wheeler, 2024). For a transcript of this episode, visit this episode's page at: http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/episodes/Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ and follow @OpinionSciPod on Twitter.