The Closed Partisan Mind : : A New Psychology of American Polarization / / Matthew D. Luttig.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• VerfasserIn: Luttig, Matthew D.,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (156 p.) :; 5 charts, 3 graphs

The Closed Partisan Mind traces the roots of partisan polarization to psychological closed-mindedness in the electorate and the changing perception of politics created by polarized political leaders and the new media environment. American politics today is defined by the intense and increasingly toxic divide between Democrats and Republicans. Matthew D. Luttig explores why so many Americans have endorsed this type of political conflict.Luttig illustrates how the psychological need for closure leads people, regardless of whether they identify as Democrat or Republican, to express more polarized political attitudes. This association between closed-minds and partisan polarization is a new phenomenon and can be traced to broader changes in American society, such as the creation of ideologically distinct political parties and a fragmented media environment. These developments have simplified politics into a black-or-white, us-versus-them, conflict making politics appealing to those with closed minds. Today, strong partisans are not just cheering for their political party to win elections. Instead, strong partisans are more akin to religious true believers, using their partisan affiliation as a means of understanding right and wrong, friend and enemy, true and false. The Closed Partisan Mind reveals that the consequences of these dynamics have manifested in a new type of partisanship and a new type of partisan. As a result, the emergence of this new type of closed partisanship illustrates the dangers that polarization has wrought on society, politics, and the minds of Americans.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Rigidity of the Right and the Rigidity of the Extremes -- 1. The Closing of the Partisan Mind -- 2. The Need for Cognitive Closure and Partisan Group-Centrism -- 3. Clear Choices, Group-Centric Partisans -- 4. The Dynamics of Partisan Closure and the 2016 Presidential Campaign -- Conclusion: Opening the Closed Mind? -- Appendix A: Survey Questionnaires for Key Variables -- Appendix B: Tables -- Notes -- References -- Index