Narrative consistency impacts neural polarization

The recent global pandemic set a powerful example of how quickly affectively polarized groups can form following exposure to new information. Yet, it remains unanswered how the consistency of information can regulate the polarization. In this social neuroscience study, we use neuroimaging to test how vaccination attitudes change when new information is presented and underscore an unobtrusive neural proxy capable of detecting subtle changes in affective polarization. We find that exposure to narratives that are extremely consistent with individuals’ beliefs leads to a decrease in neural (expressed as late beta rhythm) polarization. Conversely, extremely inconsistent narratives increase neural polarization. We test the long-term effects on the behavioral level almost a year later and find connections to the initial neural modulations. The results showcase that although providing counterinformation seems intuitive to mitigate affective polarization, it backlashes and increases polarization, while extremely consistent information reduces polarization.