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.

Aviva Philipp-Muller studies why people might pass on science. She’s an Assistant Professor of marketing at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. We talked about her research on people’s openness to science in consumer products and how they’re marketed. She also shared her perspective on how anti-science views are an issue of persuasion.Things that come up in this episode:The public science lecture circuit in 19th-century America (Finnegan, 2016; 2021)The use of science in advertising consumer products (Philipp-Muller et al., 2023)Why people are anti-science and what we can do about it (Philipp-Muller et al., 2022)Aviva’s YouTube ChannelThe “Nights with Science” ad from 1863: https://www.ohiohistory.org/science-lectures/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.

Aaron Barnes is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Louisville College of Business. He studies how persuasion, branding, and consumer–brand relationships differ between cultures. In our conversation, we talk about Aaron's story and some of his research on how the influence of calling a product "top-rated" versus "best-selling" depends on culture (Barnes & Shavitt, 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.

David Halpern is the President & Founding Director of the Behavioral Insights Team. It started as a "nudge unit" in the British government but has gone on to become its own company with offices around the world. We talked to David in 2021 when we were gathering interviews for our podcast series, They Thought We Were Ridiculous: The Unlikely Story of Behavioral Economics. But he had a lot of great insight on the role of behavioral science in public policy, so I wanted to share our full conversation as a standalone episode.Several years ago, David wrote a great book about the Behavioral Insights Team and what it's learned about applying behavioral science at scale. That book is: Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference (and I really enjoyed it).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.