Rapid Ideological Change (RIC) Project

Tad Homer-Dixon was awarded a 3-year SSHRC Insight Grant for Ideological Conflict Project (ICP), Methods field testing in the spring of 2018. In 2019, the research team continued the development of its methods for modeling the emotional content of ideologies as complex systems into practical tools for data gathering and conflict resolution. Pilot exercises simulating conflict resolution negotiations were conducted with volunteers in the Waterloo region as well as with student volunteers at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, under the supervision of Prof. Esra Cuhadar. Consultations were also held at a workshop in at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences with German researchers using ICP methods as data gathering tools in psychology research, to further the development of standardized research materials. Drawing from these consultations, a beta version of new software for drawing Cognitive-Affective Maps called Valence is now available online for testing and public use.Plans for methods field testing were suspended in the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic; a partial test was conducted online in October of 2020. Full testing will resume when meetings can again be conducted in person.