Audrey Feldman and Todd Rogers - CGIS Knafel K450

Note: We will be in CGIS Knafel K450, not our usual room.

Title: The depolarizing promise of shared sports fandom

Abstract: Shared sports fandom is one of the most powerful ways to depolarize counter-partisans. Across nine pre-registered studies, we find that learning that a counter-partisan is a fan of the same sports team reduces affective polarization as much or more than learning that a counter-partisan shares your education level, where you are from, religion, and race. The more important people’s fandom is to them, the bigger the depolarizing effect of shared fandom. Using a modified dictator game, we find that people respond with less hostility to counter-partisans who share their sports fandom than counter-partisans who share any of the other similarity dimensions.