CASTing the “Other Side”�in a Better Light
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Those in the Arts can benefit America by better CAST-ing the “other side” as more Complex, Admirable, Similar, and worthy of Togetherness
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They’re stereotypes
Distortions Across the Political Spectrum
They’re inferior, �morally and cognitively
They’re totally different
They’re best avoided
They’re more Complex, as individuals and as many sub-groups within a political party
They’re more Admirable, with many examples of individuals taking moral or thoughtful actions
They’re more Similar, in many ways �(e.g., Perception Gap report)
They’re more worthy of Togetherness, �with cross-partisan collaborations and relationships
CAST Corrections Across the
Political Spectrum
Source: Icons from Freepik (Prosymbols Premium and Three musketeers) and The Noun Project (Iconbunny)
Why to use CAST, part 1: It increases quantity and quality of cross-partisan behavior, at a personal level
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Increases Quantity / Frequency of Cross- Partisan Interactions
Improves Quality of Cross-Partisan �Personal Behavior
XTK
Why to use CAST, part 2: It may keep our country intact
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When people overestimate the threat that those in the other political party pose
The likelihood of having undesirable attitudes or taking undesirable actions may rise
Our system of government and physical safety are put at risk
Source: 1) Osborne et. al. “The Psychological Causes and Societal Consequences of Authoritarianism” (2023)
Existing examples of useful short video content overlap with CAST principles; CAST can also be used in non-video content across the Arts
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Misperception data video (3.5 min): Top performer in Strengthening Democracy Challenge showing Perception Gaps on immigration and dehumanization (Similarity), and some Complexity (e.g., Black, female Trump supporter)
“Cats Anyone?” video (5 min): Two cat owners (Similarity) with very different political beliefs covers more than just their politics (Complexity), and they bond at the end over shared loss (Togetherness)
Utah gubernatorial candidate ad (1 min): Top performer in Strengthening Democracy Challenge challenges stereotypes (Complexity), presents them as fairly worthy of Admiration, and likely needs a strong enough relationship to do this (Togetherness)
Heineken “Worlds Apart” ad (4.5 min): Best for partisan animosity in Strengthening Democracy Challenge (but not effective otherwise), showing people as more human than their political beliefs (Complexity), and able to they start building relationships (Togetherness)
Links to videos: Misperception data video, Cats Anyone?, Utah gubernatorial candidate ad, Heineken “Worlds Apart” ad
More Like US is working with TikTok influencers Left-Middle-Right to train creatives, and researchers are testing the effectiveness of content made
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Influencer Partner Left-Middle-Right
Academic Partners Testing Effectiveness
Mina Cikara
Psychology Professor
Harvard University
Donny Snyder
Grad Student
UMass-Amherst
When needed, More Like US breaks CAST down into sub-categories, and maps these to specific issues Americans can feel about the “other side”
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Impact | Issues Causing Sense of Threat or Inferiority | Aspect(s) of CAST to Use |
Mostly Threat | America / Values at Risk | Similarity: S3) Hundreds of policy, values, and democratic norms overlaps, S7) Broadly shared American traditions |
Safety | Similarity: S1) Common humanity, S2) Threatening misperceptions, S3) Hundreds of policy, values, and democratic norms overlaps | |
Status Anxiety | Complexity: C2) Demographics and politics that do not align Admiration: A1) Admirable actions and intentions (especially to out-groups) Similarity: S4) More demographic similarity than expected | |
Their Institutions Exacerbate Problems | Admiration: A1) Admirable actions and intentions (from institutions) | |
Mostly Inferiority | Cognitively / Morally Inferior | Admiration: A1) Admirable actions and intentions; A2) Acknowledging positives of “other side”; A3) Noting deficiencies of one’s own side; A4) Bad incentives more than bad people |
Lack of Contribution to Society | Admiration: A2) Acknowledging positives of “other side” | |
Lack of Relationship / Collaboration Potential | Similarity: S5) Unlike cable news, most average Democrats and Republicans do not like to talk much about politics, S6) Shared interests & associated identities Togetherness: T1) Collaborations, T2) Relationships, T3) Conversations | |
Stereotypes / "Sheeple" | Complexity: C1) People have unique personalities and political beliefs, C2) Demographics and politics that do not align, C3) Many subgroups within political parties Similarity: S4) More demographic similarity than expected |
In addition to training creatives with CAST, More Like US offers a Perception Gap lesson plan, and aggregates common ground survey data
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We are training social media content creators to CAST those across the political spectrum as more Complex, Admirable, Similar, and worthy of Togetherness than often believed
We have a Perception Gap lesson plan, largely designed for a single class period, but can be used for college students and even adults
Along with AllSides, we developed Similarity Hub, a survey aggregation tool showing policy and viewpoint overlaps between Republicans and Democrats, particularly useful for journalists
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More Like US corrects dangerous political misperceptions of each other, at scale. Political misperceptions worsen fears, and fearful people can do fearful things, putting our relationships, communities, and system of government at risk. Research finds correcting political misperceptions is one of the most important steps to take, and More Like US does this at scale by targeting the information environment – using the Arts, lessons in the classroom, and student journalism. Our supposed political enemies are actually much...More Like US.
Questions?
Contact More Like US Co-Founder & Executive Director James Coan