Bringing critical social psychology to the study of political polarization
Balinhas, Daniel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Política i de Dret Públic)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	The study of political polarization, in both its ideological and its affective expressions, has garnered significantly more interest over the last years. But despite recent research on the conceptualization, measurement, causes, and consequences of this socio-political phenomenon, and some tentative interventions to mitigate it, relevant new avenues remain surprisingly underdeveloped. Indeed, scholarship in the field of political polarization, mainly in the case of affective polarization, frequently uses cognitivist approaches to make sense of the growing antipathy between different social and political groups. However, the bulk of this work seems to overlook valuable insights into the psychology of intergroup conflict, stereotyping, prejudice reduction, and discourse studies. The aim of this paper is to underline the main gaps in the political polarization literature, to subsequently argue how knowledge linked to the tradition of critical social psychology can help in filling them. Ultimately, the article aims to contribute to the psychosocial study of political polarization and to the design, if necessary, of interventions to counter its detrimental consequences.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación CSO2017-83086-R Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-113030RB-I00 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PRE2018-086672
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Affective polarization ; Critical Social Psychology ; Depolarization interventions ; Inter-group relations ; Prejudice ; Political polarization ; Ritical social psychology ; De-polarization interventions ; Intergroup relations
Published in:	Social and Personality Psychology Compass, Vol. 17 Núm. 1 (2023) , ISSN 1751-9004

DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12721

16 p, 281.6 KB

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