The Study of Affective Polarization: A Methodological Stance

Abstract

In the last decade, the political science literature has introduced a new concept called “affective polarization” to describe a form of political polarization in which attitudes of favoritism for one’s own group and contempt for the rival group predominate. This new concept is born in the context of strong tension between rival political groups in different modern democracies. In this article, we present a systematic and critical review of the empirical literature on affective polarization. The goal is to present methodological suggestions to be taken into account in future research in this area. As a positive aspect, we highlight the variety of measures that have been used to measure affective polarization, from explicit and implicit to behavioral measures. We criticize the ambiguity with which the concept is being used, suggesting ways to overcome the identified problems. We also point out the need for precise definition of the objects towards which political attitudes are to be measured. Finally, we highlight the need for further efforts to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of the affective polarization construct.