Associate Professor Ben Lyons Recognized as Runner-Up for ICA Best Article Award
An article coauthored by Associate Professor Ben Lyons has been named runner-up for the International Communication Association (ICA) Political Communication Division’s 2025 Kaid-Sanders Best Article of the Year Award. Lyons was recognized for his coauthored article, “Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity,” published in Science.
The ICA committee praised the study as “hugely impressive,” noting its originality, scope, and the logistical effort behind coordinating one of the largest political communication experiments ever conducted. The committee emphasized that the article “helps move the field forward by clarifying which types of mechanisms are more (or less) promising targets for reducing antidemocratic sentiment” and that it will serve as a model for future research in the field.
The megastudy—conducted with a team of scholars and practitioners—tested 25 different interventions intended to reduce partisan animosity, support for undemocratic practices, and political violence. Using a sample of roughly 30,000 participants, the study found that many interventions successfully reduced partisan animosity, particularly those emphasizing shared identities and values. However, reductions in animosity did not always lead to decreases in support for political violence or antidemocratic actions, suggesting that these attitudes are more distinct than previously assumed.
“I’m happy to have made a small contribution to this study, and I’m glad the committee has recognized the team behind it. I think the project organizers at Stanford deserve immense credit for bringing this to fruition,” Lyons said.
The article has drawn significant national attention, with coverage across major outlets including MSNBC, C-SPAN, Fox News, NPR, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Deseret News, and the New York Times. Scholars have praised the study’s breadth and methodological rigor, noting that it represents a rare and important contribution to understanding polarization and the psychology of democracy.
Read the full article: Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity