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The purposes of political discourse include (1) clarifying citizens' understanding of the issue, (2) helping citizens reach their best reasoned judgment as to which course of action will solve a problem, (3) increasing citizen participation in the political process, & (4) socializing the next generation into the procedures & attitudes they need to be active citizens. A responsibility of psychology within a democratic society is to provide the theory, research, & normative procedures needed to make political discourse constructive. Constructive controversy provides a theory, validated by research that has been operationalized into a normative procedure. Constructive controversy exists when one person's ideas, information, conclusions, theories, & opinions are incompatible with those of another, & the two seek to reach an agreement. A political decision is reached through the following procedure. Citizens form advocacy groups & present the best case possible for the alternative course of action they prefer. An open discussion is held in which each citizen continues to advocate his or her position & tries to refute opposing positions & to rebut attacks on their position. Citizens then step back, try to view the issue from the other points of view, & then come to a joint decision based on the best-reasoned judgment of all citizens. The theorizing about & validating research provide an empirical base for political discourse & guidelines for conducting political campaigns. 4 Tables, 1 Figure, 73 References. Adapted from the source document.

Although creative controversy often occurs naturally within cooperative learning groups, it may be considerably enhanced when teachers structure academic controversies. This involves dividing a cooperative group into two pairs and assigning them opposing positions. The pairs then develop their position, present it to the other pair, listen to the opposing position, engage in a discussion in which they attempt to refute the other side and rebut attacks on their position, reverse perspectives and present the other position, and then drop all advocacy and seek a synthesis that takes both perspectives and positions into account. It is vital for citizens to seek reasoned judgment on the complex problems facing our society. Especially important is educating individuals to solve problems for which different points of view can plausibly be developed. To do so individuals must enter empathetically into the arguments of both sides of the issue and ensure that the strongest possible case is made for each side, and arrive at a synthesis based on rational thought. From units on the relative merits of coal or nuclear power in elementary classrooms to units on hazardous waste management within high school and college classes, individuals are learning how to use structured controversy to address the great questions of our (and previous) times and ensure that high quality solutions are found to complex problems.