Why is American politics so polarized?
In the US presidential election, which took place on November 5, 2024 local time, former Republican President Donald Trump was declared the winner after a fierce battle with Democrat Kamala Harris. During the election campaign, the Republican Party appealed for policies with strong conservative leanings, while the Democratic Party emphasized policies with strong liberal leanings, clearly demonstrating
Science is revealing why American politics are so intensely polarized - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/01/20/polarization-science-evolution-psychology/
As of January 2024, American political commentators predicted that the 2024 presidential election would be as close as the 2020 one. In response, social scientists focused on the intensifying political divide, and various academic papers and
According to the Washington Post, American politics are becoming 'emotional,' and it is becoming more likely that instinctive aversion to the opposing party will influence the choice of party to support. Shanto Iyengar, a political psychologist at Stanford University, calls this 'emotional polarization,' and Liliana Mason of Johns Hopkins University says, 'It's not polarization based on policy preferences, it's polarization based on emotions.'
Yale University sociologist Nicholas Christakis said, 'The evolution of cooperation sadly requires cross-group hatred,' and the Washington Post pointed out in an article that 'the same is true in the political arena.' The Washington Post also argued that 'today's polarization is not based on human nature, but on the exploitation and use of human emotions by political operatives with the goal of winning in divide-and-rule politics.'
'The only way to increase group cohesion is to hate the other group,' Mason said. In fact, in a 1954 study , 22 Boy Scouts were split into two groups and sent to camp without knowing each other's existence. After a week, the research team revealed the existence of the other group to each group. The groups then showed strong loathing for the other group, treating them not just as 'rivals' but as 'fundamentally flawed people.'
'Today's Democrats and Republicans have more in common with that experiment than we might realize,' Mason said. 'In this political environment, candidates who fly the banner of 'us vs. them' and 'winners or losers' are almost certain to tap into resentment and anger that cuts across racial, religious and cultural lines that have in recent years been neatly divided by party.'
According to Iyengar, in recent years, as media has fragmented into television, the Internet, etc., it has become easier to collect information in
Previous surveys have shown that emotional polarization is intensifying across the political spectrum, with more than half of Republicans and Democrats viewing the other side as a 'threat' or 'evil.' Furthermore, a survey conducted in 2022 asked subjects whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement that 'members of rival political parties are animals, not human beings,' and it was reported that about 30% of supporters of both political parties agreed with this statement.
Today, polarization is not only growing between Democrats and Republicans, but also within the party itself, with Republican Rep. Brad Lowe expressing concern that 'we are certainly on the brink of a civil war.'
Eli Fenkel of Northwestern University and others pointed out that 'the core elements of political division are 'otherization, hatred, and moralization.' Trump is skillful at manipulating political divisions by activating the emotional responses of his supporters by telling them that 'something is threatening their freedom,' such as calling the media the 'enemy of the people.'' Iyengar
Danagal Young of the University of Delaware also pointed out, 'Trump isn't just saying be afraid. He's saying be angry. And anger is a powerful emotional response.'
Related Posts:
in Note, Posted by log1r_ut