A Change is Gonna Come by Brian F. Harrison

Author:Brian F. Harrison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2020-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

Dealing with Political Fear/Anxiety

OK, so anxiety isn’t completely ideal for political discussion. However, anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing when it comes to political engagement and communication either. Anxiety is particularly effective in political talk because it can facilitate persuasion38 and can make political framing even more influential.39 Anxious citizens are likely to redirect their attention to a political threat and are more likely to shed their partisan habits and to increase their political learning. Specifically, voters who felt anxious about their preferred party’s candidate were more likely to reassess their vote choice and to pay more attention to policy positions and candidate characteristics; further, they were more likely to express an intention to vote against their party’s candidate compared to those who did not feel anxious.40 Anxiety often serves an important function in the political arena, guiding the public’s attention to important issues, and it can increase interest in learning more.

Regardless of all of the negative stuff, research does tell us that despite anxiety leading to people being more likely to consume news that supports existing beliefs, it does not necessarily impede information that does not support existing beliefs.41 Appeals to fear and anxiety motivate a search for information, decrease the salience of prior beliefs, and encourage reconsideration of previous thinking.42 Information seeking as a result of anxiety might be more balanced than some might think. In particular, anxious individuals have been found to be more likely to seek out information online compared to people who are angry; what’s more, they then truly used that information, reporting that they are more likely to vote for a political candidate who is closest to them in terms of what they want out of political issues and policies.43 It turns out anxiety isn’t all bad.

When you get the sense that a person is resisting you in a respectful political conversation because of fear or anxiety, remember this nugget from the wheel of emotion: if you can neutralize fear (and logically, anxiety) with trust, it can lead to submission, a momentary yielding to someone else’s authority. Remember that anxiety and uncertainty can produce interest in more information, so when you encounter a person who feels anxious about a political issue, provide them with information to lessen that uncertainty and discomfort. Using the thought process elucidated in chapter 4, be prepared and help facilitate learning the best way you can. If someone is afraid or anxious about immigration and border security, for example, anticipate that emotion and have some news sources at the ready for them to consider (again, using reputable sources they are likely to accept). Use their desire to rid themselves of the uncomfortable fear to your advantage by imbuing some trust into the situation, both interpersonally and with targeted information. Again, Plutchik’s wheel suggests that that might lead to submission, a pretty successful neutralization of fear and anxiety when talking about sometimes contentious or thorny political issues.

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