Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

If I describe you as a moderate, you'll believe me. (But you're not.)

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at a presidential debate

Researchers conducted an experiment with people attending the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in September 2016. The result: Most people were were open to moderating their viewpoints.

Pool/Getty Images

Researchers from Canada and Sweden are offering the results of a newly published study as a sign there may be hope for easing the harsh political polarization that has left the United States and its governing institutions in perpetual gridlock.

All it takes is a little trickery and a little nudge.


Working with doctoral students from Lund University in Sweden and McGill University in Montreal, researchers approached 136 people at the first presidential debate in September 2016 in New York.

Participants completed a survey evaluating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on a number of personality traits, such as "visionary" and "courageous." For each category they were asked to place a mark on a sliding scale closer to the candidate they thought was stronger for that trait.

About three-fourths of the responses favored one candidate.

Then the researchers secretly changed the surveys so the majority of the responses were more in the middle. A similar experiment was done online with a more diverse sample of 498 participants.

More than 9 in 10 from the first group accepted the changed results as their own — and provided more moderate views to match those results.

One person who had initially favored Clinton said after the change: "I guess I fall somewhere in the middle — I'd like to think I'm a little moderate."

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Another person who favored Trump said after the results were moderated that "Trump is more exact and confident in his decisions, so that could be viewed as being decisive. But then Hillary has a track record in which she's changed her mind about a lot of issues, but that's kind of like her educating herself and having developed thought."

At the end of the experiment, participants were asked to rate the overall competence of each candidate and still stuck with their original choice.

Researcher Jay Olson, a doctoral student at McGill, said in an interview that he found it hopeful that people were willing to express open-minded views. He didn't see it as proof that people can be easily manipulated.

Olson said he started working with principal author Thomas Strandberg of Lund University because the two happened to be stationed next to each other during the presentation of papers at several conferences.

The paper, published last week, concludes that the "us versus them" mentality in American politics may be exaggerated: "Our study reveals that American voters at either end of the political spectrum are willing to endorse more open views about political candidates. Here, suggesting to people that they are more open-minded removed their political blunders and nudged them to consider and argue for more moderate views."



Read More

Bird Flu and the Battle Against Emerging Diseases

A test tube with a blood test for h5n1 avian influenza. The concept of an avian flu pandemic. Checking the chicken for diseases.

Getty Images//Stock Photo

Bird Flu and the Battle Against Emerging Diseases

The first human death from bird flu in the United States occurred on January 6 in a Louisiana hospital, less than three weeks before the second Donald Trump administration’s inauguration. Bird flu, also known as Avian influenza or H5N1, is a disease that has been on the watch list of scientists and epidemiologists for its potential to become a serious threat to humans.

COVID-19’s chaotic handling during Trump’s first term serves as a stark reminder of the stakes. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, last year, 66 confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu were reported in the United States. That is a significant number when you consider that only one case was recorded in the two previous years.

Keep ReadingShow less
H-1B Visas, Cultural Failures, Weapons of Economic War

Illustrative picture showing application for USA H1B visa

Getty Images//Stock Photo

H-1B Visas, Cultural Failures, Weapons of Economic War

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy both came out recently in favor of expanding the H-1B visa program. This program allows large corporations to claim they cannot find adequate skilled talent (engineers for example) and sponsor a foreign worker to enter the United States to fill the required role.

The program itself is rife with abuse and inevitably and negatively affects American citizens by adding to the supply of talent and inevitably decreasing the price of such talent (wages).

Keep ReadingShow less
Finding meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding

A barn burning during a wildfire.

Getty Images//Photographer: David Odisho/Bloomberg

Finding meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding

The devastation caused by the recent fires in Los Angeles has been heartbreaking. The loss of life and property, and the grief that so many are experiencing, remind us of the vulnerability of everything in life.

Nothing is permanent. There are no guarantees for tomorrow. We are all so fragile and that fragility so often leads to breaking. And it hurts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biden and Trump Take Credit For Gaza Ceasefire

Palestinians gather to celebrate after the announcement of an cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Ramallah, West Bank on January 15, 2025.

(Photo by Issam Rimawi /Anadolu via Getty Images)

Biden and Trump Take Credit For Gaza Ceasefire

WASHINGTON— On Wednesday, both U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump took credit for a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement related to the conflict in Gaza. This deal, which had been in the works for several months, received additional support from an envoy associated with Trump, helping to facilitate its completion.

In announcing the ceasefire, Biden noted the final deal largely mirrored the framework of a proposal he made back in May, Reuters reported. He smiled when a reporter asked who the history books will credit for the ceasefire and asked, "Is that a joke?"

Keep ReadingShow less