Moral Foundations Theory: Help in Overcoming Resistance

GOTO Amsterdam 2017

It seems like the world is becoming more divided. People around the world are taking sides. This is nowhere more evident than in the United States where the last presidential election left the citizens asking serious questions about those on the “other side”. You hear, for example, “What’s wrong with those people? They don’t seem to think logically. How can we have a conversation when they are so resistant to hearing other points of view. The truth is, we are all biased.

The truth is, we filter all information. The truth is, we reach conclusions using our own version of logic and once we get there, we’re really reluctant to change. This is a big problem and I don’t even have the slightest hope of solving it, but I have discovered some interesting research that has helped me develop better ways of listening and communicating and I would like to share that in this talk.

The research is based on Moral Foundations Theory. I hope to provide enough of an overview so that the audience can begin to practice it and leave with a new set of tools for overcoming conflict.