Abstract

This dissertation explores several under-studied aspects of affective polarization through four chapters. The first chapter discusses the history of polarization research and the measurement challenges facing polarization scholars. The second chapter analyzes how electoral outcomes differentially influence Democrats' and Republicans' inparty, outparty, and general affect. I find that winning elections affects both outparty and inparty attitudes, but the size and direction of these effects varies by party: electoral success reduces Republicans' inparty affect, but for Democrats success reduces outparty affect. The third and fourth chapters contain survey experiment data measuring the effects of cross-partisan relationships. I find that positive relationships with typical outparty supporters result in more positive assessments of the outparty. I put forth a theory of chosen versus circumstantial relationships, contending that choosing to include a cross-party contact in one's life affects attitudes differently than cross-party contacts that are within one's social circle by chance or life circumstances. I find support for this theory, with chosen relationships relating to lower partisan animosity and greater propensity to form new cross-party relationships. Taken together, this dissertation reveals that affective polarization is a nuanced and complicated phenomenon. I find considerable evidence that affective polarization remains high in today's society. However, these results demonstrate that negative attitudes are positively influenced by cross-party contact, and are not extremely exacerbated by electoral outcomes. This dissertation provides a cautiously optimistic outlook on the state of affective polarization in contemporary American society.

Committee Chair

Dino Christenson

Committee Members

Alexa Bankert; Betsy Sinclair; Michael Strawbridge; Taylor Carlson

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Political Science

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

8-13-2025

Language

English (en)

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