We are also learning a lot already from the exciting work done on this topic by among others @ethanbusby.bsky.social, @atsouloumalakoudi.bsky.social, Henry Maes, Gaetano Scaduto, and their colleagues and many others.

This is part of an ongoing project with @jnareal.bsky.social about political stereotypes. We hope to learn more about how citizens imagine each other in polarized times. We will study this in surveys & using text analysis of (online) political discussion among politicians, citizens and media (🇳🇱&🇧🇷)

Takeaway: stereotypes aren’t tidy boxes. They’re webs tying together images about what people believe, where they belong, and what they’re like. They flatten the line between elites and supporters, and mix cognition with affect. That matters for how we study them, and for reducing misperceptions.

Ambiguity 3: many “traits” weren’t neutral descriptions, but expressive and moralizing. Assigning problematic traits is a way to delegitimize opponents in a way that ideas or groups cannot. Often these targeted political style: “fanatical”, “intolerant”. That’s neither fully an idea or personality.

Ambiguity #2: the categories themselves also blur. An image like “religious” (dominant in Poland) denotes a group, issue, and trait all at once. Traits (like “corrupt”, dominant in Brazil) often imply important political issues. We found the categories often go together seamlessly.

All of this is simple on paper, but less so in people’s minds.

Ambiguity #1: when asked to describe voters, many talked about politicians. Our mental image of a political camp blends elites and masses into a single picture. We judge voters through the behavior (or scandals) of their leaders.

Dovetailing with US findings, we find that, across all cases, people associate political camps mainly with issues, alongside traits. Answers were however strongly shaped by context (for instance, emphasizing corruption 🇧🇷, environment/refugees 🇩🇪, dishonesty 🇬🇧, religion/democracy 🇵🇱).

We looked for three ways people might perceive political groups: by issues or ideas (“against refugees”), by social groups (“young”), or by traits (“stupid”). These reveal different ways of looking at political conflict. Here we borrowed from an influential book by @ethanbusby.bsky.social et al.

What do citizens imagine their political opponents to be like? Polarization is real, but it also lives in our heads, fueled by stereotypes. We asked people in 🇧🇷, 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪 & 🇵🇱 to describe opponents in their own words.

With @jnareal.bsky.social, @markuswagner.bsky.social & @piotrmarczynski.bsky.social 👇

📢 Out now! The Handbook of Affective Polarization is officially published 🎉

📖 Open Access & packed with 30 great chapters thanks to amazing authors. Huge thanks to everyone, and in particular to @marianotorcal.bsky.social for the great (and fun) collaboration! 💙

Link below for the e-book 👇

De Tweede Kamerverkiezingen komen er aan, en dus ook het Nationaal Kiezersonderzoek (NKO)! 🗳️

Ben je een beginnende onderzoeker (aan het promoveren of max 5 jaar gepromoveerd)? Dan kun je een voorstel indienen om vragen toe te voegen aan het NKO.

💡Help mee kiezersgedrag te begrijpen!

Meer info 👇

Gentle reminder 📢 Today is the deadline to submit a proposal for the @ecpr.bsky.social GenConf, this year in beautiful Thessaloniki 🇬🇷26-29/8. If you are working on Affective Polarization, consider the section that @eelcoharteveld.bsky.social and I are organising: shorturl.at/O3N2b

Hi folks! I'd like to start listening to more podcasts, and would love to get some suggestions from polisky & commsky (feel free to also shamelessly self-promote!)

Thanks :)

In een lopend onderzoek met Jonathan Rodden vergelijk ik stad-platteland verschillen in verkiezingsuitslagen tussen landen. Zojuist TK verkiezingen in NL toegevoegd aan dataset. Een paar dingen vallen op: 1. De verschillen in NL zijn sinds 2012 steeds licht toegenomen en het hoogst in ruim 40 jaar.

One week left to apply! 🚨 PhD position on polarization in great department and city! @ipz.bsky.social

Start date = negotiable

polisky PSJMinfo

Interested in how elections and political landscapes are changing? Join us at SPUI25, where @tabouchadi.bsky.social, @macarenaares.bsky.social, @stefaniereher.bsky.social and I will put the upcoming Dutch elections in a comparative perspective. More details here: spui25.nl/programma/wh...