Tackling polarization to foster constructive discussions in science

You might recognize Anthony Morgan from science television programs like Discovery Channel's Daily Planet or his latest role as a co-host for CBC's The Nature of Things.

Morgan's career began almost two decades ago when he started sharing eye-opening science demonstrations with audiences on the streets of Toronto. Looking for an avenue to shift his passion for science busking into a business, Morgan turned to TMU's Zone Learning, where his event and media production company, Science Everywhere (external link, opens in new window) , was incubated. His work gained the attention of media outlets, flying Morgan across the world to share his excitement for discovery with the masses.

"My goal as a science communicator has always been to build a science culture, to build the kinds of social norms that make it more likely that people think like scientists in their everyday lives," says Morgan, who is studying in the molecular science PhD program at TMU.

Morgan started his PhD when he noticed that something was affecting society's ability to agree on basic facts: polarization. Morgan studies “affective polarization”, how opposing political groups discount, distrust, disrespect and dislike each other—a phenomenon Morgan says is primarily driven by social norms. “When humans feel threatened, we know there is safety in numbers, so we form groups which adopt social norms—rules for operation. The first rule is to attack people who don't believe what I believe. The second rule is to attack people on my side who aren't willing to attack people who don't believe what I believe. We get stuck in a negative feedback cycle where you are either an enemy of mine or an enemy sympathizer, increasing the threat to the other group and increasing our tendency to reinforce the social groups we find ourselves in.”

Supervised by professor Bryan Koivisto from the Department of Chemistry and Biology, Morgan developed Freestyle Socials (external link, opens in new window) , a party game "where disagreements make you laugh instead of lose faith in humanity", to see if gamification can help tackle polarizing topics. The game is played with a group of people in a venue by putting tape down the middle of the floor and asking light-hearted yet controversial yes or no questions like, “Should we pee in the shower?”. The audience has ten seconds to pick a side and explain why they feel a certain way—anyone who is intrigued by or laughs at an answer has to switch sides. “The game is not a debate,” says Morgan. “In a debate, your goal is to have your side win. The goal of Freestyle Socials is to open your mind and find as many surprising and amusing perspectives as you possibly can.” 

Through his research, Morgan hopes to understand how humans can set aside their differences to foster a more informed and cooperative society. "Right now, we're not having very good conversations about pressing topics like climate change, vaccines and GMOs. I want to figure out what we can do differently."

TMU PhD student Anthony Morgan follows in David Suzuki’s footsteps to co-host The Nature of Things.