Cross-Partisan Conversation Reduced Affective Polarization for Republicans and Democrats Even after the Contentious 2020 Election

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that cross-partisan conversation can reduce affective polarization. Yet, this evidence comes from experiments that dampen the contentious features of political environments like elections. We expected that crosspartisan conversation will be less effective at reducing affective polarization for partisans who experience partisan group threat from an election loss. We test our theory using a preregistered experiment in which Democrats and Republicans chatted via text online. Participants discussed the 2020 presidential election immediately following Biden’s inauguration, a contentious context that we show differentially amplified feelings of group threat among Republicans. However, for both sides, cross-partisan conversations reduced out-party animosity for at least three days, reduced social polarization, but did not increase perceptions of election integrity. Our results suggest that cross-partisan conversation can effectively reduce affective polarization among both Republicans and Democrats even in contentious contexts that amplify group threat.