Development and Validation of the Affective Polarization Scale

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dc.citation.issue1
dc.citation.volume37
dc.contributor.authorMcMurtrie B
dc.contributor.authorPhilipp M
dc.contributor.authorHebden R
dc.contributor.authorWilliams M
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-24T01:25:46Z
dc.date.available2024-06-24T01:25:46Z
dc.date.issued2024-06-05
dc.description.abstractAffective polarization – an expressed aversion and dislike of members of one’s political outgroup – has increased in many polities in recent years, and thus published research on the topic has proliferated. Studies have asserted that affective polarization is tied to prejudice and authoritarianism, among other potentially harmful phenomena, and is buffered by intellectual humility. We assert that this literature is hindered by the use of ad hoc, heterogeneous measures of affective polarization which have not been properly psychometrically evaluated, and which limit research clarity and make cumulative science on the topic difficult. Informed by the common extant measures of affective polarization we constructed a new scale and investigated its reliability and construct validity. In Study 1 we generated items and had them rated by subject matter experts for content validity (N = 6). In Study 2, a sample of US participants completed the scale (N = 326), an EFA suggested a three-factor model, which had good reliability. In Study 3, a CFA (N = 331) confirmed that a three-factor model fit the data, with subscales labelled Social Distance, Aversion, and Incivility. We also showed that our Affective Polarization Scale had good reliability, through the results of the α- and ω-indicators of reliability. Construct validity analyses supported all pre-registered hypotheses, showing that scores on our scale were positively correlated with authoritarianism, need for closure, and identity strength, and negatively correlated with intellectual humility. We make suggestions for future research and scale usage, such as investigating measurement invariance in different populations, or with different outgroup targets.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.edition2024
dc.format.pagination1-16
dc.identifier.citationMcMurtrie B, Philipp M, Hebden R, Williams M. (2024). Development and Validation of the Affective Polarization Scale. International Review of Social Psychology. 37. 1. (pp. 1-16).
dc.identifier.doi10.5334/irsp.926
dc.identifier.eissn2397-8570
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.number11
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/69979
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherUbiquity Press
dc.publisher.urihttps://rips-irsp.com/articles/10.5334/irsp.926
dc.relation.isPartOfInternational Review of Social Psychology
dc.rights(c) 2024 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectaffective polarization
dc.subjectprejudice
dc.subjectintellectual humility
dc.subjectauthoritarianism
dc.subjectnegative partisanship
dc.titleDevelopment and Validation of the Affective Polarization Scale
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id489343
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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