Rationality of Harm Avoidance and Political Tolerance

这个项目探讨了如何增加对分歧的宽容和开放。它基于对人类避免伤害的基本动机的考虑。人们不仅避免伤害自己，也认为别人避免伤害是合理的。因此，当人们认为这些观点是出于避免伤害的动机时，人们将更能容忍相反的观点。从避免伤害的角度来构建社会观点可能会使持反对意见的人看起来更理性。六项研究探讨了如何利用避免伤害的合理性来提高容忍度。这项研究的长期目标是为旨在减少不宽容、加强与持相反观点的人的积极互动的努力提供坚实的基础。这个项目测试是否可以利用人类避免伤害的基本动机来增加容忍度。六项研究考察了人们与持不同观点的人互动的意愿，以及他们允许表达反对意见的意愿。方法是利用多种方法，包括实验室实验、档案研究和具有全国代表性的调查。这些实验将被预先注册，并遵循开放科学的最佳实践。中介分析将通过感知脆弱性和理性来检验从伤害避免到容忍的预测途径。调查和行为研究将检验避免伤害干预的合理性所产生的容忍度的其他影响。通过强调人类避免伤害的普遍动机，本项目将转变对宽容的科学理解，并扩展心灵感知和群体间共情的研究文献。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines how to increase tolerance and openness to disagreement. It is based on a consideration of the fundamental human motivation to avoid harm. Not only do people avoid harm to themselves, people also think it reasonable for others to avoid harm. It is therefore expected that people will be more tolerant of opposing viewpoints when those viewpoints are seen as being motivated by the avoidance of harm. Framing social viewpoints in terms of harm avoidance may make those with opposing views seem more rational. Six studies explore how to increase tolerance using the idea of rationality of harm avoidance. The long-term goal of the research is to provide a strong foundation to inform efforts aimed at reducing intolerance, and enhancing positive interactions with those with opposing viewpoints.This project tests whether the fundamental human motivation to avoid harm can be leveraged to increase tolerance. Six studies examine people's willingness to interact with those with different views and their willingness to allow the expression of opposing views. The approach is to harness multiple methods, including laboratory experiments, archival studies, and nationally representative surveys. The experiments will be pre-registered and adhere to best practices of open science. Mediational analyses will test for the predicted pathway from harm avoidance to tolerance via perceived vulnerability and rationality. The survey and behavioral studies will test other effects of the tolerance produced by the rationality of harm avoidance intervention. By emphasizing the universal human motivation to avoid harm, this project will transform scientific understanding of tolerance, and extend the research literatures on mind perception and intergroup empathy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.