TY - JOUR

T1 - Felt respect in political discussions with contrary-minded others

AU - Rothers, Adrian

AU - Cohrs, J. Christopher

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - What makes people feel respected or disrespected in political discussions with contrary-minded others? In two survey studies, participants recalled a situation in which they had engaged in a discussion about a political topic. In Study 1 (n = 126), we used qualitative methods to document a wide array of behaviors and expressions that made people feel (dis)respected in such discussions, and derived a list of nine motives that may have underlain their significance for (dis)respect judgments. Study 2 (n = 523) used network analysis tools to explore how the satisfaction of these candidate motives is associated with felt respect. On the whole, respect was associated with the satisfaction or frustration of motives for esteem, fairness, autonomy, relatedness, and knowledge. In addition, the pattern of associations differed for participants who reported on a discussion with a stranger versus with someone they knew well, suggesting that the meaning of respect is best understood within the respective interaction context. We discuss pathways towards theoretical accounts of respect that are both broadly applicable and situationally specific.

AB - What makes people feel respected or disrespected in political discussions with contrary-minded others? In two survey studies, participants recalled a situation in which they had engaged in a discussion about a political topic. In Study 1 (n = 126), we used qualitative methods to document a wide array of behaviors and expressions that made people feel (dis)respected in such discussions, and derived a list of nine motives that may have underlain their significance for (dis)respect judgments. Study 2 (n = 523) used network analysis tools to explore how the satisfaction of these candidate motives is associated with felt respect. On the whole, respect was associated with the satisfaction or frustration of motives for esteem, fairness, autonomy, relatedness, and knowledge. In addition, the pattern of associations differed for participants who reported on a discussion with a stranger versus with someone they knew well, suggesting that the meaning of respect is best understood within the respective interaction context. We discuss pathways towards theoretical accounts of respect that are both broadly applicable and situationally specific.

KW - motives

KW - polarization

KW - political discussion

KW - Respect

KW - social worth

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85168450802&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/02654075231195531

DO - 10.1177/02654075231195531

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85168450802

VL - 40

SP - 3858

EP - 3881

JO - Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

JF - Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

SN - 0265-4075

IS - 12

ER -