Congress is gridlocked. Voters are polarized. And Americans are increasingly uninhibited about demeaning each other when ideologically divided. Indeed, partisanship has become so fierce, says communication and political science professor Shanto Iyengar, that "the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility."
That's one of the most salient points of "Fear and Loathing Across Party Lines: New Evidence on Group Polarization," a 2014 paper by Iyengar and Sean Westwood, MA '14, PhD '14 (political science), now a Princeton fellow. Democrats and Republicans regard each other contemptuously, spurred by lifestyles that provide almost unchallenged social reinforcement for their behavior. As volatile as issues of race can be, explain Iyengar and Westwood, the subject is taboo "to the point that citizens suppress their true feelings." By contrast, "no such constraints" apply to partisan expression. Americans try to rein in their animosity toward "racial minorities, immigrants, gays" or other groups, but they "enthusiastically voice hostility" toward their declared political enemies.
Why? For one thing, dramatic levels of social insulation shut out disparate ideas. More Americans now live in politically homogeneous neighborhoods. "On my block in Palo Alto," notes Iyengar, "there is only one Republican." Another measure of "social distance" is marriage: One study showed coupling across party lines is rare; another charted "startling increases" in parental disapproval of offspring marrying into a family with a different party affiliation.
How pervasive is this phenomenon? Would almost any occasion—even a child's birthday celebration—be hosted in a politically exclusive setting? Yes, says Iyengar. The upshot is an "echo chamber effect" by which "people are only encountering opinions and analysis that support their prevailing views."
Earlier work done jointly by Iyengar and other scholars documented the increasingly judgmental mindsets of party adherents. For instance, among the measurements from a 2012 study, Protestants were far friendlier toward Catholics, and Democrats notably more receptive to big-business interests, than Republicans and Democrats were toward each other. Among the worrisome implications is an unwillingness by partisans to accept decisions when their opponents have governmental control.
It may seem like gallows comfort, but Iyengar offers some perspective by comparing the United States to nations in violent disarray: "Keep in mind, it's not like this country is on the verge of civil war."
