Dialogue vs. debate: Causes and consequences of two approaches to disagreement

Keywords: disagreement; conversations; decision making

Abstract: We examine two different approaches to discussing disagreement: engaging in “dialogue” (in which the goal is to share and learn from each other) versus “debate” (in which the goal is to convince the other person). In two pilot studies, we identify features that lead people to spontaneously adopt one approach or the other. In Studies 1a-b, we test these features. We find several that reliably influence the approach taken (e.g., opinion certainty) and that perceiving shared goals and values mediates some of these effects. We confirm that sharing goals and values promotes dialogue in Study 3. Finally, in Study 4, we find that people are more likely to reach an optimal decision when instructed to approach the discussion as a dialogue rather than debate.