How does polarization play out in societies, countries, and different periods?

• What need(s) does it meet? dissent, to belong, safety in groups, belief systems, right vs wrong, fear, misinformation
• Social Theories - Democracy vs Fascism/Autocracies
• Examples: First Amendment, Campus protests about Gaza/Israel, Historical Protests such as the Civil War, etc.)

Group Polarization: Theories and Examples

https://www.verywellmind.com/group-polarization-theories-and-examples-7547335

Group polarization is a psychological phenomenon in where beliefs, attitudes, and decisions in groups are more amplified and extreme than those held by individual group members. Group polarization happens when a choice shift intensifies that initial attitude. Adopting the views of the group helps people feel positive about themselves. They may feel compelled to shift their ideas to identify with the group to achieve a sense of belonging.

Understanding these factors is crucial for mitigating polarization and promoting more constructive and inclusive dialogues within societies.

"Do I contradict myself?
Very well then, I contradict myself,
I am large, I contain multitudes…"
—Walt Whitman

Increased Polarization
https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2024/02/14/latest-vanderbilt-unity-index-shows-the-u-s-continuing-its-trend-toward-increased-political-polarization/

Historically, polarization often starts with a combination of social, economic, political, and cultural changes that challenge existing structures and identities. When groups form around particular beliefs in opposition, polarization can become entrenched, influencing everything from personal relationships to international politics.

Examples in Other Cultures & Times

Democracies encourage free speech. We mention the First Amendment, the campus protests, and democracies vs autocracies. Some examples of different times include the French Revolution, Tianon Square, and how the American Revolution against the British.

Protests in the US: the Women's Suffrage movement, campus protests about Vietnam including Kent State. Currently: Black Lives Matter and protests around women's rights.

Affective Polarization

https://www.brown.edu/news/2020-01-21/polarization

A phenomenon in which citizens feel more negatively toward other political parties than toward their own. In the U.S., affective polarization has increased more dramatically since the late 1970s than in the eight other countries they examined — the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden.

Polarization: Navigating the Divides in Today’s Society

https://lambdageeks.com/polarization/

Polarization can lead to increased hostility and a breakdown of communication between different groups. It can result in the formation of echo chambers and misinformation. Understanding polarization is crucial for promoting dialogue, empathy, and finding common ground.

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Unity can empower societies to achieve collective goals and face common threats while polarization can lead to significant strife and conflict, but also to societal change by highlighting critical issues that need addressing.

Ideally, a healthy society balances a degree of both elements. Encouraging diversity of opinion (mild polarization)

This is Episode 5 of Real Talk with Barbara Bray and Nicole Biscotti. We share why Polarization is an important topic and why we needed four podcasts to discuss the implications of a polarized society.

The podcast “Real Talk with Barbara and Nicole” focuses on Authenticity in a Polarized Society. Our podcast started from conversations we were having on the concerns about communicating with people we didn’t agree with. The first four episodes focused on Authenticity and invited inspirational guests to share how to be authentic even when it was difficult.

We start Series #1 on Polarization with this question:

What is polarization and why does it happen globally?

What is Polarization?

People become polarized through a complex process influenced by various psychological, social, and environmental factors. Focusing on the “divides” rather than the “whole.”

Definition of Polarization
https://techiescience.com/what-does-the-term-polarization-mean-understanding-the-concept-and-its-impact/

4 Key Elements Involved in Polarization:

1. Social Identity and Group Dynamics
2. Echo Chambers and Information Bubbles
3. Confirmation Bias and Selective Perception
4. Emotional Engagement and Moral Conviction

Details of the Elements:

1. **Social Identity and Group Dynamics**: People often define themselves in terms of their group affiliations, such as political, religious, or cultural groups. This can lead to an "us vs. them" mentality. When group identity becomes central to a person's self-concept, individuals may start to view the world primarily through the lens of group allegiances, promoting polarized perspectives.

2. **Echo Chambers and Information Bubbles**: With the rise of digital media, people have more control over the information they consume. This often leads to selective exposure to viewpoints that align with one's own, reinforcing pre-existing beliefs and minimizing exposure to conflicting information. Social media algorithms further enhance this effect by feeding users content similar to what they have previously engaged with, thereby creating echo chambers.

3. **Confirmation Bias and Selective Perception**: People tend to favor information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs and views. This cognitive bias can lead individuals to dismiss, ignore, or misinterpret information that contradicts their viewpoints, further entrenching polarization.

4. **Emotional Engagement and Moral Conviction**: Political and social issues often involve strong emotions and perceptions of moral and ethical stakes. When individuals perceive that their core values are threatened, they may adopt more extreme positions and view compromise as unacceptable, leading to greater polarization.

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After listening to our podcast and reviewing what we have here, please share your thoughts below on this post and/or on X using #RealTalkBN to answer this question:

What does polarization mean to you?

About Evan Whitehead

Evan Whitehead is the Executive Director of Private Therapeutic Day Schools that focus on working with students with Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, and Severe Learning Disabilities. He’s also a national consultant, trainer, and presenter with Dr. Ruby K. Payne’s Aha! Process, Inc., provides local and national training, presentations, and speaking engagements. Evan is also a certified mindset and accountability coach.

Throughout his 20+ career, Evan has served as a special education paraprofessional and teacher, Latino parent outreach coordinator, dean of student discipline, community outreach coordinator, Director of Title 1, Special Services, Bilingual Education and ELLs, and Assistant Superintendent. He is also a passionate mental health advocate, mindfulness practitioner, and proponent of equity, diversity, and intercultural competency.

Evan's 3Bs, Balance, Boundaries, and Breaks, promote a lifestyle of self-advocacy in the areas of mental health, mindset, self-care, and well-being. Evan’s 3Bs made it to the mainstream and pop culture in 2022 when platinum-selling recording artist, actress, and Entrepreneur Saweetie adopted and implemented them into her life. Saweetie has shared the 3Bs wisdom with other celebrities and entertainers such as Mary J. Blige, Oprah Winfrey, and Kelly Rowland.

How to reach Evan
Bio at https://www.ahaprocess.com/consultants/evan-whitehead/
Twitter (X): @evanwhitehead00 #BalanceBoundariesandBreaks


Topic and Question for this episode:
Does everyone have the privilege of being authentic?

Questions we discussed with Evan:

1. How does privilege affect authenticity?
2. In what spaces or situations do you feel that authenticity is a privilege?
3. We generally think of authenticity as a form of freedom of speech but how does authenticity and privilege relate to other areas of self-expression? (i.e. The CROWN Act)
4. Do you think that anyone has the privilege of authenticity in reality? (Marx quote)
5. Even once we’ve identified that privilege exists and is consequential, the question remains as to what we should do. (Unearned Privilege: Psychology Today)
6. What will it take to be ready to challenge our blind spots and embrace discomfort? (Privilege Awareness and Authentic Allyship)
7. How can society or people in their interactions mitigate this issue and create more equity around authenticity?

Some of the resources we mentioned in the podcast:

“Authenticity & Privilege”
http://freedavid.co/posts/authenticity-and-privilege.html

The CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act (SB 188) https://www.wikiwand.com/en/CROWN_Act_(California)

Privilege Awareness and Authentic Allyship: A Journey to Equity
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/privilege-awareness-authentic-allyship-journey-equity-cheraine-ncube/

Unearned Advantage: What to Make of Privilege?
“Anyone can be ‘privileged’ if it suits someone else’s argument.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/202007/unearned-advantage-what-make-privilege

We invited Hedreich Nichols to join us on Real Talk to have a conversation about authenticity around bias. She is an author, educator, and consultant who helps educators and districts amplify the voices of all students. Hedreich’s YouTube series and podcast, SmallBites, focuses on equity and helping educators to create more culturally responsive learning environments.

Hedreich is the author of several books: “What is Antiracism?”, “What is the Black Lives Matter Movement?” and more to help students understand systemic inequities. Her Solution Tree title, Finding Your Blindspots, provides educators with guiding principles to help them create more inclusive, welcoming campuses for all students.

A few of the questions we asked Hedreich:

1. What does authenticity mean to you?
2. Referring to Finding Your Blind Spots. How do we become aware of our bias(es)?
3. What do we do if we’re struggling with our own biases?
4. How do the words that we choose and speak to each other reinforce bias?
5. How do we navigate and deal with microaggressions in those conversations?
6. How can we be intentionally inclusive even with people we don’t agree with?
7. Let’s go back to your book, Finding Your Blind Spots. You ask readers to reflect on what strategies can be easily implemented to help you respond more empathetically when you encounter a trigger.

Some Gems Hedreich shared:
“Allow others to be where they are.”
“Don’t judge others’ journeys.”
“Be action oriented…put the energy into coming to a consensus.”
“Who are our ‘thems’ and who are our ‘others’ and why?”
“Bias is a natural outgrowth for safety.”
“Who are your others? Start there.”

How to reach Hedreich
Website: https://hedreich.com
Twitter (X): @hedreich
Instagram: @hedreichnichols
Facebook: Hedreich Nichols
LinkedIn: Hedreich Nichols

We started the last conversation by discussing what authenticity means. Authenticity is the core of our podcast and it is controversial just talking about it. There was more to delve deeper into this discussion so we invited Dr. Amy Mathews-Perez to join us.

Dr. Mathews-Perez is an experienced expert, an energetic leader and learner, an aspiring author, and an inspiration advocate. Amy is connecting and communicating through laughter and real life. Working to make education special for everyone!

Amy shared strategies she used and learned through experiences, courses, and books she read around critical conversations. Sometimes we have to learn things multiple times about what works.

Amy shared her definition of authenticity:
Knowing your own values, core values, and non-negotiables. Once you know what those are, then authenticity means showing those to the world through your actions and how they impact you. Relationships are about who you want to invest in.

Amy shared Jon Gordon's quote on mental health:
"If it is still bothering you in 24 hours, then you need to follow up before 48 hours."

A Gem Amy shared: You cannot be in a power struggle unless both or all people in the struggle are involved.

Another Gem: QTIP: Quit Taking It Personal

Make sure you listen all the way through for all the examples, strategies, and so many gems that Amy shared with us.

Dr. Amy Mathews-Perez is @drgrowtoknow on Twitter (X) and on LinkedIn connect with her at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-amy-mathews-perez-918431237/

Introducing our podcast "REAL TALK"

Let’s talk about why we want to discuss authenticity in a polarized society in the first place. The first question that came to our minds was, "What is authenticity?"

Nicole mentioned being authentic vs being offensive and Barbara mentioned maybe it was being an authentic person vs an authentic perspective. They talked about what is truth and Nicole found this description:

• An honest person is one who is sincere and truthful. An authentic person is one whose behavior reflects their deep feelings, core values, and inner qualities. Therefore, authenticity includes more than the frank expression of what comes to mind. Source (Arash Emamzadeh, Psychology Today)

So many questions came out of this intro to our podcast:

• How invested or “stuck” with the person are you? (your motivation)
• Think about this: What another person thinks of you is none of your business.
• Can’t change them, it’s usually more of a reflection of them
• So if you are invested and don’t agree, how do you have authentic dialogue?

Make sure you keep listening and share this podcast with your friends. We'd love to hear from you about your own perspective of authenticity. #RealTalkBN