Biased Motive Inferences of Online Outrage Undermine Cross-Partisan Conversations

Moral outrage pervades online political discourse, but what motivations drive its expression? Across three studies (N = 1,897), including behavioral experiments and a field study, we developed a taxonomy for motives of online outrage expression, and discovered partisan-biased motive inferences: While people typically reported that their in-partians’ (and their own) motives for expressing outrage was to raise awareness or inspire action, their political opponents tended to infer their motives was to shame or troll. These motive inferences were linked to greater political sectarianism and lower willingness to have a conversation about politics with the outrage expressor. In a fourth study (N = 720), we developed an intervention that changed people’s motive inferences, which improved willingness to have a conversation about politics. These findings highlight the role of motive inferences in shaping contemporary online political discourse filled with strong emotions, and suggest key levers to foster civil interactions among cross-partisans.