2009/01/15 by Lyn M. Van Swol · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Social psychology #Psychology #Decriminalization #Polarization (electrochemistry) #Criminology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/15534510802584368
openalex publication_date 2009/01/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Participants rated their opinion about the decriminalization of marijuana on a 1 to 9 scale and then discussed the issue in three‐person groups. Group members who used more extreme ends of the scale to rate their opinion talked more and took more turns. Groups did polarize on their consensual opinion from the mean of individuals' pre‐group opinions. Groups containing a more extreme member did not polarize more than groups not containing an extreme member. No differences in polarization were found between groups in which members were in consensus coming into the discussion and groups containing a minority and majority opinion.