Abstract
Normative theory extols the virtues of disagreement to democracy, but evidence to support these suppositions is somewhat mixed. This chapter reviews the empirical literature on exposure to disagreement that occurs in ordinary political conversations among citizens. After outlining conceptual distinctions and operational definitions in the literature, the main section highlights both the agreed-upon and contested findings on the consequences of disagreement, including opinion quality, political tolerance, attitudinal ambivalence, knowledge gains, polarization, and participatory outcomes. The concluding section points to unanswered questions and proposes several directions for future research on disagreement. These include exploring factors that shape receptivity to disagreement, such as individual differences, situational cues, the content of verbal exchanges, and cross-national differences in political institutions, media systems, or cultural preference for outspokenness.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication |
| Editors | Kate Kenski, Kathleen Hall Jamieson |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Chapter | 49 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780199793488 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780199793471 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2014 |