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Revisiting the Myth
- Source :
- Public Opinion Quarterly. 80:321-350
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Oxford University Press (OUP), 2016.
-
Abstract
- This study uncovers strong evidence that polarization has developed in presidential candidate trait evaluations. Unlike for ideology or policy preferences, the distribution of trait evaluations has become increasingly bimodal and clustered toward the poles. This change stems in part from a more polarized choice set, but perceptions of candidate extremeness are asymmetric, with partisans perceiving the other party’s candidate, but not their own, as extreme. In addition, the increased salience of racial and moral issues helps explain trait polarization. Racial attitudes among Republicans have become both more conservative over time and more potent in explaining trait evaluations; among Democrats, racial attitudes have neither changed over time nor become more potent. Moral values among Democrats have grown more liberal over time and more potent in explaining trait evaluations. Among Republicans, however, moral values have not become more conservative, but have become a more potent predictor of trait evaluations. We discuss the implications of the emergence of trait polarization for understanding problematic features of contemporary American politics.
- Subjects :
- History
Choice set
Sociology and Political Science
Presidential system
Communication
media_common.quotation_subject
05 social sciences
Polarization (politics)
General Social Sciences
050801 communication & media studies
Mythology
0506 political science
0508 media and communications
Politics of the United States
History and Philosophy of Science
Perception
050602 political science & public administration
Trait
Ideology
Psychology
Social psychology
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15375331 and 0033362X
- Volume :
- 80
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Public Opinion Quarterly
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........224ee0450124bc3b4b18f6a635d8816d