Political Division: The Good, the Bad, and the Partisan Bias
In 1960, a survey asked American participants whether they would be upset if their children marry a person from the opposite political party. Most Americans did not seem to care — only 5% stated they would be bothered by cross-party marriage. In fact, political beliefs did not make it to the top 3 most concerns — it was education, financial stability, and kindness (Klein & Chang, 2015). Fast forward to 50 years later, in 2010, this number skyrocketed to 33% Democrats and 49% Republicans expressed their disdain toward interparty union (Klein & Chang, 2015). Indeed, the polling firm YouGov cited from their conclusion that “Republicans have been found to like Democrats less than they like people on welfare or gays and lesbians. Democrats dislike Republicans more than they dislike big business” (Somin, 2020). It appears that the conflict between the two major parties’ followers does not end at their clash in values, but extends to attacking members of the opposite party, simply because of one’s political identity. One reason for the rising political polarization isn’t new: the partisan bias. In this article, we are going to explore the partisan brain and how it influences not only our political beliefs but also non-political decisions. But first,
What is partisan bias exactly?
Excellent question! Partisan bias, or partisan brain, refers to the phenomenon in which one’s attitudes and actions towards a specific policy or event often depend on one’s political party affiliation (Van et al., 2018). Speaking of the partisan brain, Jamil Zaki, senior research author from Stanford, commented: “Even when presented with the same exact content, people can respond very differently, which can contribute to continued division.” (Somin, 2020).
However, the political polarization due to partisanship does not end in the political field. A recent research from Stanford Political Lab shows that strong affiliation to one political party can vastly influence nonpolitical decisions, too! 1000 participants were shown two identical scholarship applications, with the same GPA, similar activities and achievements. The only difference is that one student is affiliated with the Democratic, and the other is head of their Young Republicans chapter in high school. The purpose of this experiment, said Shanto Iyengar, is to see how political cues lead to non-political decisions. And the result was shocking.
Awarding an academic scholarship — a decision that should be made based on meritocracy and remains absolutely non-political. Yet, when there is a political clue, it is reported that 75% Democrats and Republicans chose their co-partisans. Even when the applicant from the other party has a higher GPA, meaning that they are more qualified, Republicans would only award them 15% of the time. Vice versa, Democrats chose more qualified Republican applicants 30% of time. Westwood and Iyengar, the lead researchers, concluded: “Partisanship simply trumped academic excellence.” (Iyengar & Westwood, 2015).
The above experiment just demonstrates something that partisan bias does not only apply to the political realm — it is a daily phenomenon. Associated party, political beliefs and ideologies have much more influence on our lives than we could be aware of. In fact, humans are not always as rational as we think. Parties act as heuristics: party endorsement of particular attitudes, beliefs, or policies as cues to many people in establishing their own position. Furthermore, partisanship incorporates identity-protective reasoning (Iyengar & Westwood, 2015). Oftentimes, people do not have time to spend on researching every political news, as many policies do not directly impact their day-to-day lives. Hence, many prioritize upholding their judgements and beliefs according to their political identity over fact-checking. Once political belief has become a part of one’s identity, its power extends far beyond the political field (Van et al., 2018). It affects what we believe in (or want to believe in), who we like and dislike, and how we treat others.
Okay, so how should we address partisan biases?
Another great question! There are many solutions to reduce biases to partisanship; however, they all share the common roots: aiming to equip citizens in democracy with more facts and less fake news so that they can make informed decisions in electing and voting for their representatives. One method is to aim for social goals that are meaningful on an individual level in order to reduce their association with one political party. Another way is to train people using critical thinking so that they are able to recognize their own ignorance as well as identifying fabricated evidence. In addition, we can also expose people to their counter-partisan sources to reduce biases and their partisanship. In fact, research has shown that by introducing news and facts as neutral to participants, both liberals and conservatives report to engage in the neutral information in similar ways, as many people’s core values are the same: to better the world and eliminate bad things (Van et al., 2018).
In their recent research on political identities and partisanship, Van Bavel and Pereira note: “When people are hungry for belonging, they are more likely to adopt party beliefs unless they can find alternative means to satiate that goal” (Van et al., 2018). In order for people to detach themselves from their partisanship and form an independent identity, we must focus on the greater good and actions as a whole, rather than labeling individual policy or action as associated with one, specific political party.
Works Cited:
Iyengar, S., & Westwood, S. J. (2015). Fear and Loathing across Party Lines: New Evidence on Group Polarization. American Journal of Political Science, 59(3), 690–707. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24583091
Klein, E., & Chang, A. (2015, December 7). “political identity is fair game for hatred”: How Republicans and Democrats discriminate. Vox. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.vox.com/2015/12/7/9790764/partisan-discrimination
Somin, I. (2021, October 24). The growth of “partyism” and the decline of the antiwar movement. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/29/the-growth-of-partyism-and-the-decline-of-the-antiwar-movement/
Van Bavel, Jay & Pereira, Andrea. (2018). The partisan brain: An Identity-based model of political belief. 10.31234/osf.io/ak642.