People engage in political debate when they try to persuade others to support their views. This may occur in the context of a formal public debate, such as a town hall meeting or a presidential debate. It may also occur outside of a public forum, for example in an informal conversation with friends or family members.
In addition to the formal debates of the London Debating Societies in the 18th century, the public discussion of political issues has long been a feature of democratic societies. Today, social media platforms allow for instantaneous debate and commentary on virtually any topic, including controversial policy issues like COVID-19 boosters7,8 and Roe v. Wade9. These platforms have become rich sources of data on people’s conversations about these hot-button topics, and they offer a powerful opportunity for researchers to investigate the effects of various approaches to debating on how political discussions are shaped.
Research to date has largely focused on the microlevel factors that influence the quality of a debate at one point in time, but there is scope for future research to examine how these influences are aggregated into the larger picture of people’s political interactions and their related outcomes. In particular, we could study how different approaches to debating interact with each other over the course of a longer-term or repeated interaction, and whether these interactions result in virtuous or vicious cycles.
Ultimately, our goal is to develop a scientific understanding of the nature of political debate and the ways in which it can be improved. We believe this will help to create more productive and empathetic political conversations.