A Consolidation Model of Political Polarization

• In Event: 1131 - Open Topics in Mathematical Sociology

Abstract

Social scientists often attribute political echo chambers in social networks to the growing political divides in America. However, little attention was given to the fundamental antecedents of political echo chambers: Where does the remarkable level of political homophily come from? Drawing on sociological theory of network formation that addresses the influence of macro contexts on the “pool” of micro ties, I argue that the rise of echo chambers is not just a matter of changes in individual political preference but a consequence of the increasing “sociodemographic consolidation”, i.e., the associations between socially salient dimensions that translate into segregating forces. To formalize this claim, I develop a novel computational model that allows agents’ network and opinion formation to vary upon position alignment across multiple attributional states. It shows that sociodemographic consolidation conditions the emergence of political echo chambers, influencing political polarization. The generalizability of my consolidation model offers new insights on the social origin of political polarization, illuminating relational processes whereby the between-group inequalities and the political alignment of sociodemographic characteristics can exacerbate opinion polarization.

Author

• Jaemin Lee, Northeastern University