Episode 21: The Science of Depolarization (Interview with Dr. Peter Coleman)

An interview with award-winning scholar, Dr. Peter Coleman, sharing his research at Columbia University's 'Difficult Conversations Lab', exploring the variables best contributing to bringing antagonistic groups closer together.

In this 'power hour', discover the main principles which have emerged in the
scientific literature for effective depolarization. This includes the benefits of complicating the narrative, the power of movement, pursuing a common goal, the limits of contact theory, appreciating the temporal dimension of change, positive deviance, shaping first impressions, articulating theories of change, maintaining a strong positive-to-negative comment ratio.

Dr. Coleman also shares details about his 4 week, daily training program, 'The Challenge'.

Key references:

Cross-cutting structure (4:24)

Movie: A Walk in the Woods (20:11)

Habitat for Humanity (23:04)

Movie: The First Step (24:15)

Allport's Contact Theory (27:02)

Positive Deviance (33:56)

Blum's Islands of Agreement (35:19)

Derek Kilmer (37:48)

Sensitivity to Initial Conditions (39:03)

Chasin's Public Conversation's Project (40:53)

Popper's Clock vs Cloud Problem (44:31)

The Negativity Bias (47:20)

Gottman's Love Lab (48:52)

Starts with Us - The Challenge (52:17)

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Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
8:40 Complicating the Narrative
15:53 The Power of Movement
23:47 Pursuing A Common Goal
26:04 Contact Theory
33:03 Positive Deviance
38:27 Shaping First Impressions
42:37 Theories of Change
46:31 Positive/Negative Ratio
50:48 The “Challenge”
53:50 Advice for Baha’i Communities
56:05 Closing Thoughts