Small Group Persuasion at the OBOE Townhalls

18 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2012 Last revised: 22 Aug 2012

See all articles by Kevin M. Esterling

Kevin M. Esterling

University of California, Riverside (UCR) - Department of Political Science

Archon Fung

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Taeku Lee

University of California, Berkeley - Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Date Written: August 21, 2012

Abstract

We use data from a large scale deliberative experiment to evaluate the dynamics of small group persuasion. We evaluate whether persuasion is driven by the ideological composition of small groups, and whether ideological persuasion tends to be polarizing. In addition, we test for the presence of persuasion that is net of ideological considerations, a residual form of preference change that we label "deliberative persuasion." In particular we test the extent of deliberative persuasion for liberals, moderates, and conservatives across a set of fiscal policy preference items. We argue that small group dynamics depend heavily on the context in which discussion occurs; that much of the small group experimental work pays little to no attention to this context; and that deliberative institutions are likely to ameliorate many of the pathologies that are often attributed to small group discussion.

Keywords: Deliberation, Persuasion, Field Experiment, Bayesian Analysis

JEL Classification: C93

Suggested Citation

Esterling, Kevin M. and Fung, Archon and Lee, Taeku, Small Group Persuasion at the OBOE Townhalls (August 21, 2012). APSA 2012 Annual Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2109006

Kevin M. Esterling (Contact Author)

University of California, Riverside (UCR) - Department of Political Science ( email )

Riverside, CA 92521
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.politicalscience.ucr.edu/people/faculty/esterling/index.html

Archon Fung

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
617-495-9846 (Phone)
617-496-1722 (Fax)

Taeku Lee

University of California, Berkeley - Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science ( email )

210 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

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