Why we talk to people who think differently – or why we don’t

University of Basel

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“Democracy thrives on political discourse,” says Dr Melissa Jauch, a research associate in the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Basel. “It is therefore essential in a democracy that people talk to each other. This helps to understand the other side better and, in the best case, to bridge political divides. On the other hand, it’s also a chance to critically examine one’s own views.”

At the same time, increasing political polarization means that many people shy away from confrontation with those who think differently, whether out of fear of conflict or out of a need to protect their self-esteem. “It is therefore important to understand the circumstances under which people are willing to talk to people who think differently,” says Jauch.

The postdoc investigated this question together with other researchers in social psychology and recently published the results in the journal Political Psychology. A total of four studies were conducted with students from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel and with sample groups in the US and the UK.

Interest in other opinions

To measure willingness to engage in discussion, the Basel research team has developed its own measuring tool called WEDO (Willingness to engage with differently minded others). The way it works is simple: using predefined hypothetical scenarios, the study participants first indicate their attitude towards a certain topic – such as sustainability or immigration – on a multi-point scale.

In a second step, they are asked to put together a hypothetical discussion group. In doing so, they define the range of opinions that they consider acceptable in this group. For example, a participant may exclude people with extremely different opinions, but allow moderately different positions. WEDO therefore does not just measure whether someone is in favor of dialog or rejects it. Rather, the tool captures the full range of opinions that a person is willing to accept.

What distinguishes open-minded people

The study shows that people who are open to those with different opinions tend to think more analytically and have a general need to get to the bottom of things. “People who tend to think in black and white and rely more on their gut feeling, however, are less willing to engage in dialog,” reports Jauch.

The social psychologist was surprised to find that, according to the studies, it does not matter whether a topic is politically controversial when it comes to people’s willingness to engage in dialog. “We assumed that differing opinions would tend to be avoided when it came to controversial topics. This did not prove to be the case; on the contrary: according to one study, people are more willing to engage with other opinions when it comes to controversial issues.”

Studies continue

The studies are not yet complete, says Melissa Jauch. There are still a number of open questions that need to be investigated in more detail: why are people sometimes more willing to engage in dialog when it comes to controversial topics? What context is conducive to political discussion? Are there other personality traits besides analytical and intuitive thinking styles that influence people’s willingness to engage in dialog? And what role do stereotypes play?

However, WEDO already offers several advantages. Compared to behavioral studies, the measuring tool saves time and money and can be easily adapted to different topics and contexts. It also allows for a nuanced assessment of the range of opinions that people are willing to engage with – thus helping to identify the factors that can bridge political divides.

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Journal

Political Psychology

DOI

10.1111/pops.70086 

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

How deep a divide do we tolerate? Measuring the willingness to engage with differently minded others (WEDO)

Organic carbon in a submarine pressure cooker

Researchers reveal unexpected processes for high hydrogen production in hydrothermal systems

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

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image: 

It shimmers and sparkles in the deep sea: Under the protruding flange of the hydrothermal vent on the Knipovich Ridge, hot fluids reflect the light due to their optical properties. The image was taken during Expedition MSM131 with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) MARUM-QUEST 4000. Photo: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen.

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Credit: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen.

The mid-ocean ridge runs through the oceans like a suture. Where the Earth’s plates move apart, new oceanic crust is continuously formed. This is often accompanied by magmatism and hydrothermal activity. Sea water seeps into the subsurface, is heated to temperatures above 400 degrees Celsius, and rises again to the ocean floor. The scientific community until now has assumed that the high hydrogen content measured in these liquids was a clear sign of serpentinization, a process that occurs when hot, mineral-rich liquids in the Earth’s crust react with the rocks there, and hydrogen and methane, among other materials, are formed through chemical reactions. These substances form the basis for life at the hydrothermal seeps. Dr. Alexander Diehl, first author of the study and a scientist at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, and at the Faculty of Geosciences of the University of Bremen, and his team have now shown that there is another way in which elevated hydrogen concentrations can arise at the spreading ridges.

Recently discovered hydrothermal field off Norway

The area of study is the Jøtul Hydrothermal Field on the Knipovich Ridge. This lies off the coast of Spitsbergen in the European Norwegian Sea, and represents the junction of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It was first discovered in 2022 during a MARUM expedition of the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN. It is significant because it lies on the flank of a rift valley in an ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridge that is overlain by sediments from the continental slope. The entire region is characterized by a multitude of different seeps and vents. During the original expedition, initial samples of hydrothermal fluids were taken by the remotely operated vehicle MARUM-QUEST 4000. "However, on the way to the surface the gases escaped and could no longer be precisely measured in the laboratory. Similar to opening a pressurized soda bottle,” explains Alexander Diehl, “the gas fizzes out.” In order to investigate the components of the hydrothermal fluids more accurately, the research team returned to the Knipovich Ridge in 2024 with gas-tight sample containers.

More than just Serpentinization

But there is another specialty associated with the Jøtul Hydrothermal Field: It lies much deeper than other sediment-accumulating hydrothermal vents. “At a depth of 3,000 meters, high pressures dominate, which, on the one hand, makes sampling a challenge – and on the other hand, also influences the geological and chemical processes taking place there,” explains Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bohrmann, who was the Chief Scientist of both MARUM expeditions to the Jøtul Hydrothermal Field. The researchers analyzed the major components and dissolved gases as well as isotopic compositions, then applied thermodynamic modelling to study how the fluids react with the surrounding rocks. “Our models showed that, because of the high pressures and temperatures in the subsurface at the hydrothermal vents, the organic materials in the sediments decompose under supercritical conditions, causing the release of hydrogen molecules,” explains Diehl. “We were able to show that serpentinization is not the only explanation for how elevated hydrogen concentrations can occur in the deep sea. These findings expand our understanding of sediment-dominated hydrothermal vents, and suggest that the interaction between fluids and sediments is a more important source for dissolved hydrogen in the ocean than was previously believed.”

New Cluster of Excellence carries on with research

The research was carried out under the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface”, and further ship expeditions will return to the Knipovich Ridge in the second funding phase of the Cluster of Excellence, which starts at the beginning of 2026. “The focus of these expeditions will be to improve our understanding of the composition of the vents and the escaping fluids, and to compare them with other hydrothermal vents," adds Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bach, scientist at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, and at the Faculty of Geosciences at the University of Bremen.

More information:

• More about the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface”: https://www.marum.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor.html
• About Expedition MSM131: https://www.marum.de/en/MSM131.html 
• Press release on the discovery of the hydrothermal field in 2022: https://www.marum.de/en/New-hydrothermal-field-discovered-by-MARUM-expedition.html

MARUM produces fundamental scientific knowledge about the role of the ocean and the seafloor in the total Earth system. The dynamics of the oceans and the seabed significantly impact the entire Earth system through the interaction of geological, physical, biological and chemical processes. These influence both the climate and the global carbon cycle, resulting in the creation of unique biological systems. MARUM is committed to fundamental and unbiased research in the interests of society, the marine environment, and in accordance with the sustainability goals of the United Nations. It publishes its quality-assured scientific data to make it publicly available. MARUM informs the public about new discoveries in the marine environment and provides practical knowledge through its dialogue with society. MARUM cooperation with companies and industrial partners is carried out in accordance with its goal of protecting the marine environment.

 

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DOI

10.1038/s43247-025-02962-2 

Article Title

High H2 production in sediment-hosted hydrothermal fluids at an ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridge

Article Publication Date

6-Jan-2026

How to make communities more resilient to climate change

North Carolina State University

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Researchers are proposing a new strategy for local governments to make municipalities more resilient against climate change. The “compounded resilience” strategy lays out how local governments can take advantage of opportunities to both limit adverse impacts of climate change on their communities and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.

“Local governments are already dealing with the impacts of climate change,” says Christopher Galik, corresponding author of a paper introducing the strategy and a professor of public administration at North Carolina State University. “There are more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and flooding, which force municipalities to make decisions about how, where and – in some cases – whether to rebuild. The changing climate is also influencing where people want to live, forcing some municipalities to make decisions about how and where new development will take place to accommodate a growing population.”

“All of these development and redevelopment decisions represent an opportunity for local governments to adopt policies that better prepare infrastructure and neighborhoods for the new conditions driven by climate change,” says Georgina Sanchez, co-author of the paper and director of research engagement in NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics. “Policies designed to incentivize adaptation strategies that make communities more resilient to flooding or other increasing challenges can be intentionally linked with efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change itself. This combined approach is what we call ‘compound resilience.’

“Instituting new policies and regulations that govern zoning, construction requirements, and so on, can be expensive and politically challenging,” Sanchez says. “But if communities are already having to build or rebuild in response to climate change, implementing compound resilience policies may be more feasible.”

“We are already seeing municipalities compete to attract people and businesses displaced by climate change, so there is an incentive for local governments to present themselves as being safe places for people to move and invest,” Galik says. “On the other hand, we find that, if nothing else changes, climate-driven shifts in where people live could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. The argument we are making here is that there is both a need and an opportunity to adopt compound resilience policies.

“These are policies that can help communities grow while improving quality of life,” Galik says.

“For example, we know that incorporating greenhouse gas efficiency measures into new construction is substantially less expensive than retrofitting existing structures,” says Sanchez. “These measures improve energy efficiency and ultimately reduce costs for property owners. Thinking about these ways to improve efficiency at the same time we are thinking about ways to build climate resilience, such as fire resistance or flood mitigation, present tremendous advantages for local governments and the people who call those places home.”

The paper, “Compounded Resilience: A Step Towards Achieving Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in the U.S. Built Environment,” is published open access in the journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.

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Journal

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change

DOI

10.1007/s11027-025-10273-2 

Method of Research

Commentary/editorial

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Compounded Resilience: A Step Towards Achieving Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in the U.S. Built Environment

 

Researchers unlock catalyst behavior that could cut emissions and stabilize supply of everyday materials

Rice University

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image: 

Michael Wong, the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice.

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Credit: Rice University.

A Rice University-led team has unveiled how tiny molecular structures on industrial catalysts behave during the manufacture of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), a core ingredient in adhesives, paints, coatings, packaging, textiles and many other products people use every day.

By revealing how these molecular palladium-acetate trimers and dimers transform under reaction conditions and control catalyst performance, the work points the way to catalyst designs that could cut energy use, reduce carbon emissions and make global VAM production cleaner and more reliable.

“Vinyl acetate underpins a huge slice of the modern materials economy, so small efficiency gains can translate into major environmental and economic benefits,” said Michael Wong, corresponding author of the study, the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice. “By understanding how these palladium-acetate species behave, we can help industry design catalysts that use less energy, generate less waste and deliver more stable production over the long term.”

The study, published in Nature Communications, was carried out in collaboration with Celanese Corp., a global leader in VAM production, along with partners at Purdue University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

VAM is produced by reacting ethylene, oxygen and acetic acid over a palladium-gold catalyst promoted with potassium acetate. The researchers created simplified palladium-acetate model catalysts and followed them under realistic reaction conditions using advanced X-ray, spectroscopic and electron microscopy techniques coupled with computational modeling.

They showed that potassium acetate stabilizes specific palladium-acetate dimers and alters how they convert into metallic palladium nanoparticles. When those nanoparticles stay small and well dispersed, the catalyst becomes both more active and more selective for VAM, reducing wasteful side reactions that burn valuable feedstocks into carbon dioxide.

“We found that by tuning these molecular species, you can dramatically change how the catalyst uses energy and how much valuable product you get for every molecule you put in,” said Hunter Jacobs, co-first author and Rice doctoral alumnus now at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “That’s exactly the kind of insight that can help industry lower operating temperatures, cut emissions and stretch resources further.”

Co-first author Welman Curi-Elias, a research scientist in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice, said the work reframes how chemists think about these species.

“These trimers and dimers were often treated as inactive species or signs of deactivation,” Curi-Elias said. “Our results show they are dynamic players in a redox cycle that controls nanoparticle size and ultimately how efficiently and cleanly vinyl acetate is made.”

Improved catalysts for VAM could deliver a range of benefits, including lower energy consumption in large-scale chemical manufacturing, less material waste and greenhouse gas emissions, longer-lasting industrial equipment thanks to more stable catalyst behavior and more stable pricing and supply of essential materials used in consumer goods.

“Every gain in selectivity means less raw material burned off as carbon dioxide and more of it ending up in useful products,” Wong said. “That’s good for the climate, for manufacturers and for the people who rely on these materials every day.”

For Celanese, which operates major VAM production facilities, the findings offer a science-based road map for more sustainable manufacturing.

“This research helps us see exactly how to push catalysts toward higher efficiency and longer life,” said Kevin Fogash, senior director of process technology for Celanese. “If we can produce the same amount of vinyl acetate using less energy with less waste and fewer shutdowns, that benefits our customers, our communities and the environment. It also supports more predictable supply and pricing for the many industries that depend on these materials.”

The team’s computational work showed that multiple palladium-acetate species can actively form vinyl acetate but that their true importance lies in how they signal and shape nanoparticle growth. In other words, these molecular complexes serve as sensitive indicators of catalyst health and guides for how to design next-generation systems.

“What excites us is that we now have a molecular-level picture that ties directly to metrics industry cares about: efficiency, stability and environmental footprint,” Wong said.

This research was supported by Celanese, the ACS Petroleum Research Fund and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-66820-7 

Article Title

Dynamic behavior of molecular Pd-acetate trimers and dimers in heterogeneous vinyl acetate synthesis

 

Migration-related trauma among asylum seekers exposed to the migrant protection protocols

JAMA Network Open

About The Study: 

In this cohort study, exposure to Migrant Protection Protocols was associated with higher rates of trauma during migration among asylum seekers. Such policies may be associated with adverse health outcomes for asylum seekers, with potential downstream implications for U.S. public health and security. The Migrant Protection Protocols were introduced in January 2019 and changed U.S. asylum procedures by requiring certain asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting immigration proceedings.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kyle Joyner, MD, email kyle.joyner@med.usc.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.50786)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication. 

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Journal

JAMA Network Open