The project "Reactance and Polarization: Causes, Consequences and Solutions" at the Åbo Akademi University, investigates if psychological reactance causes polarization, that is, makes people's opinions more extreme. Reactance occurs when we feel that our freedom of choice has been threatened. This can happen, for example, when someone tries to persuade us. Reactance can cause us to do the opposite of what we have been persuaded to do or make us question whether the persuader can be trusted. In the present project, we conduct online experiments to explore if this reaction can explain why opinions become polarized and why people develop negative attitudes towards those who disagree with them. As far as we know, this has not been studied before. If reactance turns out to be a reason behind polarization, we will test if we can prevent the development of polarization by reducing reactance. This information can improve societal discussions about controversial topics.

2024

2028