Political Processes & Rhetoric – Page 56 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Confirmation Bias

Post author:Natalie Fleury
Post published:October 23, 2012
Post category:Negotiation Political Processes & Rhetoric Public

Teaching dispute resolution typically includes making students aware of the many different biases that influence our views of conflicts and our decision making. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about confirmation bias during this election. According to the Oxford Dictionary, confirmation bias is “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.” A prime example of this bias in operation during the election cycle is the decision about who won the second Presidential Debate. Republicans tended to state that Romney won, while Democrats typically called the debate in Obama’s favor.

There’s an interesting blog post about this phenomenon and satire on Social Psychology Eye, an associated site for Wiley-Blackwell’s review journal on Social and Personality Psychology. Even though the post is from April 2011, it has some good points to keep in mind in the next few weeks while we’re barraged by negative ads, phone calls, internet ads, etc. One great piece of advice is at the end of the post:

“Here is one tip for overcoming confirmation bias within yourself: When most people do ‘reality testing’ they seek information that confirms their existing views are correct. Instead, try to do the opposite. Try to find evidence that argues against your existing views. It may be uncomfortable, but it can be more likely to lead to information that is accurate rather than just comforting.”

Presidential, Senate Races in Wisconsin Are Tied, New Poll Results Show

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 17, 2012
Post category:Marquette Law School Political Processes & Rhetoric Public

Changing opinions, particularly among voters who label themselves independents, and the impact of campaign events – especially the first presidential debate – have brought both the presidential and US Senate races in Wisconsin to dead ties, according to results of a new round of the Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday.

Both races are now pure toss-ups, said Professor Charles Franklin, director of the poll and visiting professor of law and public policy at the Law School.

In poll results four weeks ago, Democratic President Barack Obama led by 14 points over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Two weeks ago, Obama was up by 11 points. But in polling done Oct. 11 to 14 – just ahead of the second presidential debate – Obama was favored by 49% and Romney by 48%, effectively a tie.

Franklin pointed to the impact of the presidential debate in Denver as a central factor. Obama’s performance in that debate was widely panned. “Rarely has a debate produced such a large movement in the polls,” Franklin said.

Feingold Calls for More Cooperation, Less Big Money in Politics

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 4, 2012
Post category:Political Processes & Rhetoric Public Speakers at Marquette

Voters should do more to demand that their elected representatives, regardless of which party they are in, demonstrate that they are willing to work with people on the other side of the political aisle to solve problems, former US Senator Russ Feingold told an audience at Eckstein Hall on Wednesday.

In an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session, Feingold certainly aired his own political views – he is co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign in Wisconsin. But he also called for new efforts to stem the impact of big donations on the political process and for a return at all political levels to times when officials cooperated more with people of differing views.

“It’s up to the people to change the dynamic,” Feingold said, responding to a question from an audience member about the highly partisan climate.. Right now, he said, many elected officials are “listening to anger” more than voices seeking cooperation. He suggested voters tell elected officials that if they cannot provide examples of how they worked with people of differing views at the end of a term, the voters won’t support them again.

Feingold said Republican leaders in Washington never gave Obama a chance as president to work across the aisle. He said key Republicans had dinner together on the day of Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and agreed, “We’re not going to let his guy get anything.” He said, “To me, this was off the charts. . . . It’s not a very good thing to do to the United States of America.”