A Thematic Analysis of Enhancing Constructive Political Conflict Using Positive Imagined Interactions

This narrative inquiry aimed to investigate whether the deliberate use of positive imagined interactions (IIs) could contribute to the enhancement of cross-cutting political conflict, and also tested the seventh theorem of II conflict linkage theory. Undergraduate student participants were assigned to one of three conditions: positive II, negative II, or control in a three-phase procedure. Participants engaged in an II and then reflected on their IIs through open-ended questions before having real cross-cutting conversations on a political topic of their choice with trained confederates. Participants then completed a questionnaire assessing the constructiveness or destructiveness of their interaction. Thematic analysis revealed that 40 out of the 45 total participants engaged in positive and constructive conflict with their conversation partners. Positive IIs facilitated perspective-taking, while negative IIs allowed individuals to mentally defend their beliefs. Although the results neither confirmed nor refuted Theorem 7 of II conflict linkage theory, they did provide support for Theorem 3, which suggests that negative intrusive IIs can manifest even when individuals attempt to have positive IIs.