Can Deliberation Reduce Political Misperceptions? Findings from a Deliberative Experiment on Immigration

Abstract

How can deliberative democracy contribute to our understanding of political misperceptions? Findings from the field of political sophistication suggest that misperceptions are difficult to change and corrective measures often fail. However, this field of research has paid little attention to deliberation as a mechanism to reduce political misperceptions. Using a deliberative experiment on immigration where participants engaged in either mixed or likeminded group discussions, we find some evidence of deliberation’s corrective potential, especially in mixed groups, i.e. groups where individuals with different opinions on the matter discuss these with each other. By conducting the first exploratory study on deliberative democracy’s potential for reducing misperception, we hope to advance the empirical discussion on the precise function of deliberation in the age of disinformation.