Affective Polarization Measurement
Affective polarization measurement quantifies the gap between how positively people feel toward their own political party (the in-party) and how negatively they feel toward the opposing party (the out-party). Iyengar, Sood and Lelkes (2012) showed that this affective divide has grown sharply even where issue positions have not, reframing polarization as a social-identity phenomenon of partisan like and dislike rather than ideological distance.
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Sources
- Iyengar, S., Sood, G., & Lelkes, Y. (2012). Affect, not ideology: A social identity perspective on polarization. Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(3), 405-431. DOI: 10.1093/poq/nfs038 ↗
- Iyengar, S., Lelkes, Y., Levendusky, M., Malhotra, N., & Westwood, S. J. (2019). The origins and consequences of affective polarization in the United States. Annual Review of Political Science, 22, 129-146. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034 ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Affective Polarization Measurement. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/political-psychology/affective-polarization-measurement
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- Feeling Thermometer AnalysisPolitical Psychology↔ compare
- Partisan Identity ScalePolitical Psychology↔ compare
- Political Ideology ScalePolitical Psychology↔ compare
- Social Identity Political MeasurementPolitical Psychology↔ compare