The Party or the Program: Individual Differences in Affective Polarization

• In Event: Affective Polarization in the US

Abstract

An increasing number of studies have focused on affective polarization in American politics, with scholars debating the extent to which growing disdain for the other side emanates from strong group attachments or is grounded in ideological and issue-based considerations. For the most part, though, these studies have focused on universals and have not considered individual differences in the relative weight of issues versus group membership in predicting partisan affect. Using a mixture of American National Election Studies (ANES) observational data and experimental data from an original survey fielded to a nationally representative sample, I supplement the current literature with a more nuanced analysis focused on heterogeneity, testing differences based on personality, cognitive preferences, demographics, and partisanship. For whom does group identity matter more; who is more responsive to issue-based cross-pressures; and has the relationship between issue attitudes, group membership, and partisan affect changed differently over time for different groups? The results show that avenues that may prove promising for reducing partisan hostility for some groups are ineffective for others, advocating for a more tailored approach to the study of affective polarization.

Author

• Lori Bougher, Princeton University