Paper by fellow Joël van der Weele published in American Economic Review
The paper “Self-Persuasion: Evidence from Field Experiments at International Debating Competitions" by research fellow Joël van der Weele (University of Amsterdam) with co-authors Peter Schwardmann (Carnegie Mellon University, United States) and Egon Tripodi (University of Essex, United Kingdom) has been published in the April 2022 issue of American Economic Review.
Abstract
Laboratory evidence shows that when people have to argue for a given position, they persuade themselves about the position’s factual and moral superiority. Such self-persuasion limits the potential of communication to resolve conflict and reduce polarization. We test for this phenomenon in a field setting, at international debating competitions that randomly assign experienced and motivated debaters to argue one side of a topical motion. We find self-persuasion in factual beliefs and confidence in one’s position. Effect sizes are smaller than in the laboratory, but robust to a one-hour exchange of arguments and a ten-fold increase in incentives for accuracy.
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Article Citation
Peter Schwardmann, Egon Tripodi, and Joël J. van der Weele, “Self-Persuasion: Evidence from Field Experiments at International Debating Competitions", American Economic Review, vol. 112, no. 4, April 2022, pp. 1118-46.