American teenagers, on the cusp of assuming their rights and responsibilities as voters and citizens, perceive a country divided and are pessimistic about America’s current situation. However, they aren’t entirely gloomy and do hold flashes of optimism for the future. Teens have long been excluded from most research about politics […] Read more »
What Is a Populist? And is Donald Trump one?
Why does Donald Trump exaggerate the size of his inauguration crowd, brag about his election win in conversations with world leaders, and claim without evidence that voter fraud may have cost him the popular vote? Why does he dismiss protesters who oppose him as “paid professionals” and polls that reflect […] Read more »
More (on) Polarization
… Many studies have documented the widening gap between partisans of the two parties. The blatant contempt that Republicans and Democrats express towards each other in surveys has escalated in the last 20 years. … A 2015 study found that party prejudice is stronger than racial prejudice. Republican and Democratic […] Read more »
How Readers React to Political News Stories They Don’t Like: By Ignoring Them
The United States is so polarized that it can seem that Republicans and Democrats choose to exist in two entirely different versions of the day, depending on their media diet. But a new analysis of the web traffic of 148 news organizations shows something subtler: Publications across the political spectrum […] Read more »
Why More Democrats Are Now Embracing Conspiracy Theories
Even as Democrats decry the false claims streaming regularly from the White House, they appear to have become more vulnerable to unsupported claims and conspiracy theories that flatter their own political prejudices. The reason isn’t just that a Republican now occupies the White House. Political psychology research suggests that losing […] Read more »
Why Aren’t Rural Canadians in Favor of Trump?
… Since environmental regulations gutted Change Islands’ fishing industry in the early ’90s, unemployment has skyrocketed. As a result, its local young population is moving away in search of a better future. If Change Islands were in the United States, it would likely be caught up in the populist wave […] Read more »