Mental DailyMental Daily
  • Clinical
  • Health
  • I/O
  • Cybernetic
  • Social
  • More
    • Opinion
    • My Bookmarks
Aa
Mental Daily
Aa
  • Clinical
  • Health
  • I/O
  • Cybernetic
  • Social
  • Opinion
Search
  • Clinical
  • Health
  • I/O
  • Cybernetic
  • Social
  • More
    • Opinion
    • My Bookmarks
Follow US
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Inc. Profile
  • Google Play Store
© 2022 - Mental Daily. All Rights Reserved.
Social

Researchers explain how voting behavior affects polarization in U.S. political parties

Staff Writer
Staff Writer 2 years ago
Updated 2020/08/14 at 12:04 AM
Share
SHARE

Past studies probing the state of the two major political parties in the United States have yielded increasingly polarized outcomes. For politicians, their positions on key issues have drifted further from the center, while voters’ views have remained nearly centrist-like over the last couple of decades.

“Since the 1960s, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress have taken increasingly polarized positions, while the public’s policy positions have remained centrist and moderate,” according to a study published in the journal SIAM Review. “We explain this apparent contradiction by developing a dynamical model that predicts ideological positions of political parties.”

In the recent study, conducted at Santa Fe Institute, researchers placed their focus on a cognitive heuristic known as satisficing. Among voters, the notion of satisficing explains voting behavior in which people typically settle for a candidate who is good enough, instead of backing the best choice.

The study used data derived from U.S. Congress stretching back more than a century.


“We test the model using data from the U.S. Congress over the past 150 years and find that our predictions are consistent with the two major political parties’ historical trajectories,” the co-authors explained in the findings. “In particular, the model explains how polarization between the Democrats and Republicans since the 1960s could be a consequence of increasing ideological homogeneity within the parties.”

The study, titled Why Are U.S. Parties So Polarized? A “Satisficing” Dynamical Model, was authored by Vicky Chuqiao Yang, Daniel M. Abrams, Georgia Kernell, and Adilson E. Motter.

Photo: aarp

You Might Also Like

Study explores how perceived motives of public diplomacy influence foreign public opinion

118th U.S. Congress makes history for its diverse representation: survey

Illegal migration at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at near record highs: study

Survey finds close to half of American teens have been bullied online

More Americans see their country’s global influence weakening than strengthening

TAGGED: Republicans, satisficing, Democrats, Politics
Staff Writer August 13, 2020
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Email Print
Previous Article Remembering past events from a third-person perspective leads to more interaction among brain regions
Next Article Researchers show why mental illness risk is higher among former military personnel

Recommended

Social

Study explores how perceived motives of public diplomacy influence foreign public opinion

1 Min Read
Social

118th U.S. Congress makes history for its diverse representation: survey

1 Min Read
Social

Illegal migration at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at near record highs: study

1 Min Read
Social

Survey finds close to half of American teens have been bullied online

1 Min Read
//

We are a trusted online source for research news and resources on all aspects of the mind and human behavior.

Verticals

  • Clinical
  • Health
  • Social
  • I/O
  • Opinion

Social

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Inc. Profile
  • Google Play Store

Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • The Editor
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Follow US

© 2022 Mental Daily. All Rights Reserved.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Inc. Profile
  • Google Play Store

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?