The use of the Communication Accommodation Theory to predict affective polarisation in digital one-on-one conversations.

Koning, Sem (2025) The use of the Communication Accommodation Theory to predict affective polarisation in digital one-on-one conversations. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

In our increasingly polarised and online world, it is important to understand the process through which this polarisation takes place, as it has numerous negative effects on society. This research attempted to use the Communication Accommodation Theory to predict affective polarisation. Our sample was an all-American sample (N = 423) recruited through Prolific. They engaged in a ten-minute chat conversation where they discussed immigration. We predicted that people's communication styles would diverge more when they disagreed with each other than when they agreed with each other. Furthermore, we predicted an increase in affective polarisation when there was an increase in divergence. Neither of these hypotheses were supported, but we did find some evidence that similarity in communication styles affects constructs such as perceived defensiveness and shared cognition that could, in time, decrease affective polarisation.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Koudenburg, N.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route/Track:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	08 Jul 2025 12:01
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2025 12:01
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5364

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