Affective Polarization in Online Discussions: A Practical Solution?

Neuhaus, Maximillian (2024) Affective Polarization in Online Discussions: A Practical Solution? Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Political discussions, especially on social media, are plagued with hostility and division. This affective polarization is more commonplace today than it has been in decades and presents a serious hindrance to effective communication. We aimed to investigate the inclusion of information in profiles as a practical means to depolarize online political discussions. Specifically, we tested whether individuating information in profiles would lead to decreased affective polarization compared to an anonymous profile and whether inclusion of stereotypical information would lead to increased polarization. We sampled 322 participants in order to compare affective polarization resulting from the three profile types. An ANOVA showed no significant differences between the conditions. Post hoc analyses were conducted to investigate this lack of effect. In this way, our study was able to add to the growing research on this topic by showing the limitations of subtle cues of individuation or stereotypicality and showing that group identity was a much greater predictor of affective polarization than profile content.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Baldina, L.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2024 07:01
Last Modified:	15 Jul 2024 07:01
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3870

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