Like-Dislike scores

Variable description

The like-dislike scale is one of the most commonly used tools for measuring affective polarization. Respondents are asked about their feelings towards a number of parties. This allows one to get an understanding of their view of the overall party system, and to compute measures such as the spread of likes or the affective polarization index that try to capture just that.

It can be found in a wider range of datasets, most notably the CSES. Other variations include, for instance, the feeling thermometer in the American National Election Survey which asks for feelings towards parties on a scale of 0-100.

Datasets & Variants

CSES

LIKE-DISLIKE PARTY X

Label: IMD3008_X, E3017_X

Scale: 0 (strongly dislike) - 10 (strongly like)

Wording: “I’d like to know what you think about each of our political parties. After I read the name of a political party, please rate it on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you strongly dislike that party and 10 means that you strongly like that party. If I come to a party you haven’t heard of or you feel you do not know enough about, just say so. The first party is [PARTY A].”

LIKE-DISLIKE LEADER X

E3018_A

Scale: 0 (strongly dislike) - 10 (strongly like)

Wording: And what do you think of the presidential candidates/party leaders? After I read the name of a presidential candidate/party leader, please rate them on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you strongly dislike that candidate and 10 means that you strongly like that candidate. If I come to a presidential candidate/party leader you haven’t heard of or you feel you do not know enough about, just say so. The first is [LEADER A].

Measures

Measures that rely on these items: