Bad listener male politicians create polarization & conflict study RT USA

2/2/2015

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Bad listener male politicians create polarization & conflict study

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Published time: January 30, 2015 10:30

Reuters/Gary Cameron

Americas male mainstream politicians are drama queens too impatient to listen to
their opponents and engage with the other side. That's according to new research from
political scientists at the University of North Carolina and the University of Kansas.

Tags
Psychology, Science

Competitive elections make those engaged in politics even more reluctant to talk shop and engage with their opponents, the researchers
say. And male partisans are more likely than their female counterparts to reject opinions that come from the other party, without even
engaging that information.
"One implication is that female legislators might talk about politics and deliberately engage the other party more than their male colleagues,"
said Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas assistant professor of political science. "That might have some effects on the kind of legislative
environment we have. Maybe if we have more women in office, you'd have more communication, less fighting, and perhaps more legislating
and less gridlock."
The researchers came to the conclusion that men are more likely than women to avoid cross-party political discussion, to judge political
arguments based solely on what party is advancing them and to form strong political opinions about the opposite party's proposals
without actually listening to the other side's reasoning. Meanwhile, the act of listening to political opponents is at the core of a
deliberative democracy, the study's authors say.
"Just because they hear that an argument comes from the other party they think about that information less. Yet they are more likely to reject
that information strongly. In essence, male partisans are forming strong opinions that create polarization and conflict on less information than
women," Miller said.

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Bad listener male politicians create polarization & conflict study RT USA

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The results of the study are based on survey data from the 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study conducted nationwide, as well
as 2014 experimental results involving University of Kansas undergraduate students. The latest research is said to be the first to apply the
psychological idea of intergroup anxiety into political science.
"Male Democrats and Republicans more than female partisans expect interacting with the other party to be an unpleasant, conflictual, anxious,
anger-filled experience," Miller said. "So as a result, they talk about politics with people in the other party less so than women."
The researcher said these findings fit with psychological research known as the "male warrior argument" that focuses on men being
hardwired to fight. "It's not that women don't have any of those feelings. It's just that they have fewer of them," Miller said.
Meanwhile, by and large, voters tend to nominate and elect more partisan politicians.
"If we're condemning politicians for the way they act in office, they might just be giving us what we as citizens are looking for that partisan
warrior and gridlock," Miller said.
The study led by Miller and co-author Pamela Johnston Conover, a political science professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
is published in the Journal "Politics, Groups, and Identities."

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Buddy Thompson

Politicians are just over paid liars.

day ago 22:58

Zeitgeisttt

Reply

+1

Most politicians are corporate shills and not needed with a direct democracy via internet
2 days ago 18:58

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Bad listener male politicians create polarization & conflict study RT USA

Rasputin

2/2/2015

+1

Bunch of old know-nothing windbags! Couldn't stand to listen to them, threw out TV 25 years ago!
3 days ago 11:20

Reply

matt

You sound like a male politician.

2 days ago 17:26

Lesbian Schoolgirls

Reply

+1

Women should be in charge,

3 days ago 09:12

Reply

Rasputin

+1

Eh, we had Hitlery and that nut job from Alaska, what was her
name? Palin. and Condi Rice, now another Rice and Samantha
Power... ad nauseam. I am in favor of Elizabeth Warren however.
3 days ago 11:22

Richard Mccarty

Reply

That is what I take from this report. May be what we need .

3 days ago 11:05

Frederika Zig

Reply

No news here.. Men rarely have empathy or listening skills. Too much ego, too much of instincts and
impulses. Women are more sensitive and better in communication.
3 days ago 07:38

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3/5

Bad listener male politicians create polarization & conflict study RT USA

2/2/2015

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