Samtal om svenskan : hur diskussionsregler med moderering motverkar gruppolarisering i likasinnade grupper

Kirjoittajat

• Marina Lindell
• Kim Strandberg
• Staffan Himmelroos
• Kimmo Grönlund

Abstrakti

A frequent assumption in the social psychological literature is that when like-minded people discuss with each other, their opinions tend to become more extreme. This phenomenon is called group polarization. In groups lacking participants with different opinions, participants tend to confirm their group identity and the prevailing opinion, often without reflecting on their own position. However, discussion rules and facilitation might alleviate group polarization, but studies where these factors can be systematically analysed are still scarce. In this study we are interested in examining whether group polarization can be alleviated with the use of discussion rules and facilitation. The study is designed as an experimental citizen discussion in which 187 Finnish-speaking Finns discussed the status of the Swedish language in Finland. The purpose of the experiment was to examine if and how group polarization in like-minded discussions is dependent on the nature of the discussions. The participants were divided into opinion enclaves based on their initial opinion about the status of the Swedish language in Finland. Each opinion enclave had two treatments: 1) discussion with specific deliberative discussion rules and facilitation (deliberation) and 2) discussion without any discussion rules or facilitation (no deliberation). The results indicate that deliberation can allevi­ate group polarization and prevent the development of extreme opinions about the Swedish language in Finland, whereas no deliberation tend to indict group polarization and more extreme opinions.