Constructive Controversy as a Means of Teaching Citizens How to Engage in Political Discourse

Abstract

Positive political discourse is the heart of democracy. The purposes of political discourse include making an effective decision about the course the society should take and building a moral bond among all members of the society. A responsibility of social sciences within a democratic society is to provide the theory, research, and normative procedures needed to make political discourse constructive. A theory underlying political discourse is constructive controversy. There is considerable research that indicates controversy results in significant increases in the quality and creativity of decision making and problem solving, the quality of relationships among citizens, and improvements in the psychological health of the citizenry. From the validated theory, both a teaching and decision making procedure has been developed and field tested. The theory of constructive controversy, the supporting research, and the normative procedure provide a valid empirically based process for political discourse.