An Experimental Test of the Elite Causes of Affective Polarization

• In Event: Affective Polarization in the US

Abstract

We see polarization among elites as the foundation of affective polarization, the separation between members of the two parties in the general public in their feelings towards each other. While scholars have used observational data to establish a link between elite polarization and affective polarization (Rogowski and Sutherland 2016), there are questions about the direction of the causal arrow. Banda and Cluverius (2018) see elite polarization as the cause of affective polarization, while Diermeier and Li (2018
) see the reverse. We use three experiments to show that people take signals from elites about partisanship; in two experiments, partisans respond more strongly when elected officials of their party criticize the behavior of a teacher and when they use inflammatory language about the other party. In a third experiment, designed as a list experiment, we find that people react angrily to the possibility of their member of Congress identifying them as a member of the incorrect political party.

Authors

• John Cluverius, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Kevin K. Banda, Texas Tech University