Honors Projects

Abstract

Affective polarization — negative feelings toward the opposing political party — is increasing in the United States. As partisanship becomes weaponized, an individual’s ideological consistency becomes an important determiner for their negative feelings toward other individuals with different beliefs. This concern reaches beyond mere disagreement, and has serious implications for the future of our democratic principles: open dialogue, compromise, and policy making. Rationality and the ability to change one’s mind seems to be at the forefront of this issue, acting as a bottom-up driver for policy preference formation. This research analyzes the connection between ideological consistency, rationality, and affective polarization amongst Bowling Green State University students. Finding that students are consistently aligned with their party identities, reluctant to change their minds despite evidence of their incoherence, and increasingly affective toward one another as a result.

Department

Political Science

Major

Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law

First Advisor

Joshua Boston

First Advisor Department

Political Science

Second Advisor

Christian Coons

Second Advisor Department

Philosophy

Publication Date

Fall 12-8-2025

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