Abstract

Politically divided societies are also often divided emotionally: people like and trust those with similar political views (in-group favoritism) while disliking and distrusting those with different views (out-group animosity). This phenomenon, called affective polarization, influences individual decisions, including seemingly apolitical choices such as whether to wear a mask or what car to buy. We present a dynamical model of decision-making in an affectively polarized society, identifying three potential global outcomes separated by a sharp boundary in the parameter space: consensus, partisan polarization, and non-partisan polarization. Our analysis reveals that out-group animosity is crucial for partisan polarization, while in-group favoritism, along with balanced group sizes, is vital for consensus. Analysis reveals that larger out-group animosity compared to in-group favoritism, i.e., more hate than love, is sufficient for …

Date

March 11, 2025

Authors

Buddhika Nettasinghe, Allon G Percus, Kristina Lerman

Journal

PNAS Nexus

Pages

pgaf082

Publisher

Oxford University Press