Julia Minson, Associate Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Shorenstein Center resident faculty member, and Dr. Frances Chen, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, recently published a new study in the Personality and Social Psychology Review on receptiveness to opposing views – or as the authors define it: “the willingness to access, consider, and evaluate contradictory opinions in a relatively impartial manner.”
The authors draw on a growing body of research in the field to advance the argument that receptiveness should be measured and studied not just at the individual level, but as an interpersonal construct that emerges dynamically over the course of an interaction. This argument is supported, Minson and Chen say, with evidence that shows one’s receptiveness to opposing views can both shape and be shaped by the relative receptiveness of one’s counterpart. Understanding and conceptualizing receptiveness in this way could have important implications for designing effective interventions.
Read more about Minson and Chen’s research in a recent feature from The Journalist’s Resource.
