Research Design Connection: Dialoguing to Better Understanding

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | May 15th, 2017

Trying to solve a difficult problem? Imagine a dialogue between people with various viewpoints on the issue to be resolved; that fantasy conversation will dramatically increase your understanding of relevant topics (Zavala and Kuhn, in press). An Association for Psychological Science press release related to Zavala and Kuhn’s article shares that “Examining an issue as a debate or dialogue between two sides helps people apply deeper, more sophisticated reasoning…‘Envisioning opposing views leads to a more comprehensive examination of the issue,’ says psychology researcher Julia Zavala…‘the dialogic task…lead to deeper, more comprehensive processing of the two positions and hence a richer representation of each and the differences between them,’ says Kuhn. Constructing a dialogue thus helped to expand and sharpen…thinking.” “Imagining Dialogue Can Boost Critical Thinking.” 2017. Press release, Association for Psychological Science, https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/imagining-dialogue-can-boost-critical-thinking.html#.WN2bblKZO1t Julia Zavala and Deanna Kuhn. “Solitary Discourse Is a Productive Activity.” Psychological Science, in press. Sally Augustin, …