Abstract

Most work deals with the effects, not antecedents, of people’s exposure to disagreement within their social networks. Here, we elaborate on the role played by a major psychological driver of public opinion: emotions. Drawing from cognitive and appraisal theories, we explore the association between pride, anger, and disagreeable political talk. Three studies—based on cross-sectional and panel surveys conducted in electoral and nonelectoral settings in Chile, the United States, and Switzerland—confirm that there is a significant relationship between feelings of pride toward political objects and discussing with people with ideas different from one’s own. Anger, in contrast, is not a significant predictor of cross-cutting talk. We elaborate on these findings and propose directions for future research.

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