Category: Communication
Do civil dialogue interventions on U.S. college campuses have any impact?
October 22, 2025 Written by CAS Communication Staff
A field experiment examining different types of interventions
Research by Lindsay Hoffman, associate professor of communication in the College of Arts and Sciences, and doctoral students Wyatt Dawson and Ebuka Ifeanyichukwu, was recently published in the journal SN Social Sciences. The article, “Discourse-Based Interventions, Intellectual Humility, and Political Participation on College Campuses,” (SN Social Sciences, 2025) examines how structured dialogue programs on college campuses promote intellectual humility and encourage civic engagement among students.
The researchers compared the willingness of students who participated in programs such as free intelligent conversations and living room conversations to discuss politics and take part in civic activities with those in a control group. They found that the students who engaged in longer, moderated discussions like living room conversations showed greater intellectual humility and a stronger willingness to talk about politics and take part in civic life.
