ProjectBase

Constructive Dialogue Institute

The Constructive Dialogue Institute translate the latest behavioral science research into educational tools that are evidence-based, practical, and scalable in order to equip students and professionals with the skills for constructive dialogue.

The Constructive Dialogue Institute was founded in 2017 (then called OpenMind and renamed Constructive Dialogue Institue in 2022) by moral and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and Caroline Mehl in response to the rising division and distrust threatening to tear America apart.

The work of OpenEvo has been inspired by the work of Jonathan Haidt for a long time. Particularly our educational design work around understanding human morality builds on the work of Jonathan Haidt and colleagues.

ProjectBase entry type Relevant project, Source project
Relevant subject areas Civics, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Social Studies, Social-Emotional Learning
Relevant learning goals Cooperation Competency, Critical Thinking, Evaluation Competency, Intellectual Humility, Intercultural Competence, Self-Regulation Competency

Related Lesson Materials

Causes of our moral intuitions

In this lesson students explore the causes of our moral intuitions with the help of a sorting activity and reflection questions.

Discussion guide about moral issues

Lesson plan and worksheets to apply understandings of moral psychology in classroom discussions about ethical issues

Fast thinking or slow thinking

In this lesson students sort their own experience of thinking into fast and slow processes. Based on this, they come to understand that our thinking is shaped through experience such that things we do often and regularly become easier over time.

Function of cognitive biases

In this lesson students learn about the concept of cognitive biases as well as a number of important cognitive biases that may affect our well-being and social interactions, identify their causes in evolutionary history, their functions, and reflect on how to cope with cognitive biases.

Moral taste buds

In this lesson students explore the causes and functions of, as well as ways to flexibly relate to our moral intuitions by engaging the analogy to our taste buds.

Noticing moral intuitions

Students identify the moral intuitions underlying people’s opinions in quoted texts and images.

True stories of people who left radical movements

In this unit students explore stories of people who have left a radical movement, or deliberately discuss with representatives of the “other side” and build respectful relationships. These let us explore the circumstances, experiences and insights about why prejudice, hatred and violence against other people or a group can arise and how they can dissolve again.

Two stories of capitalism

Students explore two contrasting stories about the benefits and failures of capitalism, identify the moral intuitions behind each story, and write a third story about capitalism that integrates aspects of both stories.