Testing the “Defensive Effect”

Abstract

An experiment with 953 participants shows robust support for the ``defensive effect,'' which predicts that uncivil disagreement can jumpstart a chain reaction that leads to greater political participation. Results show that when people were confronted with news story comments that disagreed with their own views in a nasty way, this led first to negative emotions and then to great intention to get politically involved. Civil disagreement did not provoke this effect. Results suggest emotional responses to incivility have the potential to engage the electorate in positive ways if properly channeled.