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The Debate over Political Polarization: An Updated Examination of Public Polarization

dc.access.optionOpen Access
dc.contributor.advisorFrancia, Peter
dc.contributor.authorStamper, Julia
dc.contributor.departmentPolitical Science
dc.date.accessioned2019-03-07T18:51:10Z
dc.date.available2020-01-23T09:01:54Z
dc.date.created2018-12
dc.date.issued2018-12-13
dc.date.submittedDecember 2018
dc.date.updated2019-03-07T14:41:38Z
dc.degree.departmentPolitical Science
dc.degree.disciplinePolitical Science
dc.degree.grantorEast Carolina University
dc.degree.levelUndergraduate
dc.degree.nameBA
dc.description.abstractPolitical polarization of the public has been the topic of academic debate for decades. Some claim that the polarization is concentrated in party elites and perpetuated by the media (Fiorina, Abrams, and Pope 2011). Others claim that there is widespread polarization of the public (Abramowitz 2013). Using the ANES Time Series 1948-2106 I find evidence that polarization does extend to the mass public. A higher proportion of party identifiers are more likely to identify at the tail ends of the ideological spectrum, the scales showing policy preference, and the feeling thermometers towards presidents and the opposite party. The mean response for all three scales mentioned has also moved farther and farther towards the extremes and the gap between Republicans and Democrats has grown, or in some cases developed and grown, and grown at a higher rate in the last 10 years. The multi-variate analysis provides further evidence for the separation between party identifiers and indicates that demographic factors do not affect individuals’ policy preferences as much as their party identification. In short, the American public has become increasingly polarized along party lines with both strong and weak party identifiers having sizeable gaps in opinions when compared to their opposite party counterparts.
dc.embargo.lift2019-06-01
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/7097
dc.publisherEast Carolina University
dc.subjectPolitical polarization
dc.subjectpolarization
dc.subjectpublic
dc.titleThe Debate over Political Polarization: An Updated Examination of Public Polarization
dc.typeHonors Thesis
dc.type.materialtext

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