Destructive Communication

Abstract

This paper studies whether polarization offsets the well-documented positive effect of communication on trust. In an experimental setting, we vary the degree of polarization and the participants’ ability to communicate. When participants are polarized enough, communication no longer improves trust and even harms trustworthiness. Using unsupervised machine learning, we document that a substantial fraction of individuals focus their communication on being polarized. This leads to a destructive effect of communication on both trust and trustworthiness.

Keywords: Communication, Polarization, Trust, Trustworthiness, Out-group discrimination, Online experiment

JEL Classification: C92, D83, D91