Gaining perspective in climate collaboration: The effect of establishing common ground on outgroup perceptions in climate-related communication

The climate crisis necessitates urgent collaboration on an unprecedented scale. To stave off disaster, individuals must address polarizing climate issues across deep social and ideological divides to take collective action. Drawing on social perspective taking theory, we investigate the effects of a “common ground” strategy–i.e., first acknowledging compelling aspects of respondents’ opinions on a proposed climate solution before disagreeing. Across four online experiments (N=1,839), participants exposed to this strategy reported enhanced relationship-relevant outcomes—including greater perceived similarity, fairness, and mutual perspective taking—compared to those who faced immediate disagreement. These findings demonstrate the power of perspective-taking communication and suggest a practical, scalable strategy for fostering constructive engagement across ideological divides. Effortfully taking another’s perspective appears promising as a strategy to establish a sense of common ground with those holding opposing points of view. The resulting relational benefits enhance the prospects for continued collaboration across differences—precisely what will be required to address the climate crisis.