L Mason
Biographic Data
| ID | 25119 |
|---|---|
| NAME | L Mason |
| GIVEN NAMES | L |
| FAMILY NAME | Mason |
| SIGNATURE | MASON L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, College Park |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0305-8246 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2,011 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 23 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 12 |
Cool Citizens? How Affectively Unpolarized Citizens View and Participate in Democracy
Does affective polarization change how citizens view and participate in democracy? We posit that the answer to this crucial question depends on how affectively un polarized citizens view and participate in democracy. Yet, the most common operationalization of affective polarization––measuring sympathy ratings for one party relative to another––does not differentiate between people’s absolute sympathy ratings for the parties, which may mask essent…
Mind the Gap
Political polarization in America has intensified beyond mere disagreement to what scholars characterize as sectarianism—a condition where partisan identity fundamentally shapes moral judgments. A key marker of sectarianism is asymmetric moral standards for violence, where aggression against political opponents is considered more justified than identical violence targeting one’s own group. Using a survey experiment featuring a realistic political…
How to Measure Public Support for Political Violence
With low but rising levels of violent political threats and violent acts by civilians in the United States, researchers increasingly want to measure violent public views—fearing the erosion of collective norms inhibiting violence while also regarding individual attitudes as a risk for rare violent action and more common forms of aggressive political behavior. But how should violent views be measured and interpreted? Drawing on our decade-plus res…
“It wasn’t a real rape”
Threats as Political Communication
Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsNathan P. KalmoeNathan P. Kalmoe is executive director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has written three scholarly books, two dozen academic articles, and many public essays on contentious politics and democrat…
Parental income inequality and children’s digit ratio (2D
Income inequality is associated positively with disease prevalence and mortality. Digit ratio (2D:4D) – a negative proxy for prenatal testosterone and a positive correlate of prenatal oestrogen – is related to several diseases. This study examined the association of income inequality (operationalized as relative parental income) and children’s 2D:4D. Participants self-measured finger lengths (2D=index finger, and 4D=ring finger) in a large online…
Radical American Partisanship
Who’s at the Party? Group Sentiments, Knowledge, and Partisan Identity
In studying US partisanship, scholars often invoke a groups approach, wherein individuals’ group memberships affect their identification with the Democratic and Republican Parties. While this literature implies that partisanship stems from citizens’ sentiments toward the groups that constitute the parties’ membership, this particular proposition has not been thoroughly investigated. We, in turn, propose a group sentiments model of partisanship—a …
Activating Animus
Partisanship in American politics is inextricably linked with social identities, and sentiments toward party-aligned groups affect political orientations. However, out-group animosity may operate differently depending on the party or elite. We investigate the extent to which citizens' animus toward (Democratically aligned) minority groups drove political support for Donald Trump, whose incendiary rhetoric regarding such groups is unique in modern…
An Inherited Money Dude from Queens County
Student-Run Exit Polls 101
As professors, we seek not only to impart knowledge about issues and concepts in American politics but also to engage and inspire students to become more knowledgeable and more active in politics. This article explains how a student-run exit poll conducted on Election Day 2016 accomplished both goals. Seven faculty members from four universities pooled our students and carried out an exit poll in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and …
Uncivil Agreement
"Political polarization in America is at an all-time high, and the conflict has moved beyond disagreements about matters of policy. Research has shown that, for the first time in more than twenty years, majorities of both parties hold strongly unfavorable views of their opponents. This is polarization rooted in social identity, and it is growing. The campaign and election of Donald Trump laid bare this fact of the American electorate, its success…
Losing Common Ground
The alignment between partisan and other social identities has generated a rift between Democrats and Republicans that is deeper than any seen in recent American history. Without the cross-cutting identities that have traditionally stabilized the American two-party system, partisans in the American electorate are now seeing each other through prejudiced and intolerant eyes. In this article, partisan social divisions are examined in the 2016 elect…
Ideologues without Issues
The distinction between a person’s ideological identity and their issue positions has come more clearly into focus in recent research. Scholars have pointed out a significant difference between identity-based and issue-based ideology in the American electorate. However, the affective and social effects of these separate elements of ideology have not been sufficiently explored. Drawing on a national sample collected by SSI and data from the 2016 A…
One Tribe to Bind Them All
Social sorting” is a concept used by Mason () to explain the process by which individuals' social identities grow increasingly aligned with a partisan identity, reducing social cross‐pressures on political behavior. Roccas and Brewer () have found that individuals who feel fewer cross‐pressures more strongly identify with their ingroups and are less tolerant of outgroups. Accordingly, we create “objective” and “subjective” measures of social sort…
Political Identity Convergence
Leonie Huddy, Lilliana Mason, S. Nechama Horwitz, Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 3, Immigrants Inside Politics/Outside Citizenship (June 2016), pp. 205-228
A Cross-Cutting Calm
Although anecdotal stories of political anger and enthusiasm appear to be provoked largely by issues such as gay marriage or healthcare reform, social sorting is capable of playing a powerful role in driving anger and enthusiasm, undercutting the perception that only practical disagreements are driving higher levels of political rancor. Because a highly aligned set of social identities increases an individual’s perceived differences between group…
Sorting and the Split-Ticket
Expressive Partisanship
Party identification is central to the study of American political behavior, yet there remains disagreement over whether it is largely instrumental or expressive in nature. We draw on social identity theory to develop the expressive model and conduct four studies to compare it to an instrumental explanation of campaign involvement. We find strong support for the expressive model: a multi-item partisan identity scale better accounts for campaign a…
I Disrespectfully Agree
Disagreements over whether polarization exists in the mass public have confounded two separate types of polarization. When social polarization is separated from issue position polarization, both sides of the polarization debate can be simultaneously correct. Social polarization, characterized by increased levels of partisan bias, activism, and anger, is increasing, driven by partisan identity and political identity alignment, and does not require…
Socially Mediated Internet Surveys
The Socially Mediated Internet Survey (SMIS) method is a cost-effective technique used to obtain web-based, adult samples for experimental research in political science. SMIS engages central figures in online social networks to help recruit participants among visitors to these websites, yielding sizable samples for experimental research. We present data from six samples collected using the SMIS method and compare them to those gathered by other s…
The Rise of Uncivil Agreement
The debate over whether polarization is occurring in the mass public has been limited by a lack of definition and theory. This article contributes to both, arguing that polarization can be characterized as either behavioral polarization or issue position polarization, but that the two are not synonymous. One reason for the difference between the two types of polarization is that the partisan-ideological sorting that has occurred over the past few…
Resource depletion, peak minerals and the implications for sustainable resource management
Expressive Partisanship
Party identification is central to the study of American political behavior, yet there remains disagreement over whether it is largely instrumental or expressive in nature. We draw on social identity theory to develop the expressive model and conduct four studies to compare it to an instrumental explanation of campaign involvement. We find strong support for the expressive model: a multi-item partisan identity scale better accounts for campaign a…
I Disrespectfully Agree
Disagreements over whether polarization exists in the mass public have confounded two separate types of polarization. When social polarization is separated from issue position polarization, both sides of the polarization debate can be simultaneously correct. Social polarization, characterized by increased levels of partisan bias, activism, and anger, is increasing, driven by partisan identity and political identity alignment, and does not require…
A Cross-Cutting Calm
Although anecdotal stories of political anger and enthusiasm appear to be provoked largely by issues such as gay marriage or healthcare reform, social sorting is capable of playing a powerful role in driving anger and enthusiasm, undercutting the perception that only practical disagreements are driving higher levels of political rancor. Because a highly aligned set of social identities increases an individual’s perceived differences between group…
Ideologues without Issues
The distinction between a person’s ideological identity and their issue positions has come more clearly into focus in recent research. Scholars have pointed out a significant difference between identity-based and issue-based ideology in the American electorate. However, the affective and social effects of these separate elements of ideology have not been sufficiently explored. Drawing on a national sample collected by SSI and data from the 2016 A…
One Tribe to Bind Them All
Social sorting” is a concept used by Mason () to explain the process by which individuals' social identities grow increasingly aligned with a partisan identity, reducing social cross‐pressures on political behavior. Roccas and Brewer () have found that individuals who feel fewer cross‐pressures more strongly identify with their ingroups and are less tolerant of outgroups. Accordingly, we create “objective” and “subjective” measures of social sort…
Activating Animus
Partisanship in American politics is inextricably linked with social identities, and sentiments toward party-aligned groups affect political orientations. However, out-group animosity may operate differently depending on the party or elite. We investigate the extent to which citizens' animus toward (Democratically aligned) minority groups drove political support for Donald Trump, whose incendiary rhetoric regarding such groups is unique in modern…
The Rise of Uncivil Agreement
The debate over whether polarization is occurring in the mass public has been limited by a lack of definition and theory. This article contributes to both, arguing that polarization can be characterized as either behavioral polarization or issue position polarization, but that the two are not synonymous. One reason for the difference between the two types of polarization is that the partisan-ideological sorting that has occurred over the past few…
Who’s at the Party? Group Sentiments, Knowledge, and Partisan Identity
In studying US partisanship, scholars often invoke a groups approach, wherein individuals’ group memberships affect their identification with the Democratic and Republican Parties. While this literature implies that partisanship stems from citizens’ sentiments toward the groups that constitute the parties’ membership, this particular proposition has not been thoroughly investigated. We, in turn, propose a group sentiments model of partisanship—a …
Political Identity Convergence
Leonie Huddy, Lilliana Mason, S. Nechama Horwitz, Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 3, Immigrants Inside Politics/Outside Citizenship (June 2016), pp. 205-228
Sorting and the Split-Ticket
Resource depletion, peak minerals and the implications for sustainable resource management
Losing Common Ground
The alignment between partisan and other social identities has generated a rift between Democrats and Republicans that is deeper than any seen in recent American history. Without the cross-cutting identities that have traditionally stabilized the American two-party system, partisans in the American electorate are now seeing each other through prejudiced and intolerant eyes. In this article, partisan social divisions are examined in the 2016 elect…
Socially Mediated Internet Surveys
The Socially Mediated Internet Survey (SMIS) method is a cost-effective technique used to obtain web-based, adult samples for experimental research in political science. SMIS engages central figures in online social networks to help recruit participants among visitors to these websites, yielding sizable samples for experimental research. We present data from six samples collected using the SMIS method and compare them to those gathered by other s…
Uncivil Agreement
"Political polarization in America is at an all-time high, and the conflict has moved beyond disagreements about matters of policy. Research has shown that, for the first time in more than twenty years, majorities of both parties hold strongly unfavorable views of their opponents. This is polarization rooted in social identity, and it is growing. The campaign and election of Donald Trump laid bare this fact of the American electorate, its success…
Threats as Political Communication
Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsNathan P. KalmoeNathan P. Kalmoe is executive director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has written three scholarly books, two dozen academic articles, and many public essays on contentious politics and democrat…
An Inherited Money Dude from Queens County
Student-Run Exit Polls 101
As professors, we seek not only to impart knowledge about issues and concepts in American politics but also to engage and inspire students to become more knowledgeable and more active in politics. This article explains how a student-run exit poll conducted on Election Day 2016 accomplished both goals. Seven faculty members from four universities pooled our students and carried out an exit poll in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and …
Resource depletion, peak minerals and the implications for sustainable resource management
Socially Mediated Internet Surveys
The Socially Mediated Internet Survey (SMIS) method is a cost-effective technique used to obtain web-based, adult samples for experimental research in political science. SMIS engages central figures in online social networks to help recruit participants among visitors to these websites, yielding sizable samples for experimental research. We present data from six samples collected using the SMIS method and compare them to those gathered by other s…
The Rise of Uncivil Agreement
The debate over whether polarization is occurring in the mass public has been limited by a lack of definition and theory. This article contributes to both, arguing that polarization can be characterized as either behavioral polarization or issue position polarization, but that the two are not synonymous. One reason for the difference between the two types of polarization is that the partisan-ideological sorting that has occurred over the past few…
I Disrespectfully Agree
Disagreements over whether polarization exists in the mass public have confounded two separate types of polarization. When social polarization is separated from issue position polarization, both sides of the polarization debate can be simultaneously correct. Social polarization, characterized by increased levels of partisan bias, activism, and anger, is increasing, driven by partisan identity and political identity alignment, and does not require…
Expressive Partisanship
Party identification is central to the study of American political behavior, yet there remains disagreement over whether it is largely instrumental or expressive in nature. We draw on social identity theory to develop the expressive model and conduct four studies to compare it to an instrumental explanation of campaign involvement. We find strong support for the expressive model: a multi-item partisan identity scale better accounts for campaign a…
Political Identity Convergence
Leonie Huddy, Lilliana Mason, S. Nechama Horwitz, Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 3, Immigrants Inside Politics/Outside Citizenship (June 2016), pp. 205-228
A Cross-Cutting Calm
Although anecdotal stories of political anger and enthusiasm appear to be provoked largely by issues such as gay marriage or healthcare reform, social sorting is capable of playing a powerful role in driving anger and enthusiasm, undercutting the perception that only practical disagreements are driving higher levels of political rancor. Because a highly aligned set of social identities increases an individual’s perceived differences between group…
Sorting and the Split-Ticket
Uncivil Agreement
"Political polarization in America is at an all-time high, and the conflict has moved beyond disagreements about matters of policy. Research has shown that, for the first time in more than twenty years, majorities of both parties hold strongly unfavorable views of their opponents. This is polarization rooted in social identity, and it is growing. The campaign and election of Donald Trump laid bare this fact of the American electorate, its success…
Losing Common Ground
The alignment between partisan and other social identities has generated a rift between Democrats and Republicans that is deeper than any seen in recent American history. Without the cross-cutting identities that have traditionally stabilized the American two-party system, partisans in the American electorate are now seeing each other through prejudiced and intolerant eyes. In this article, partisan social divisions are examined in the 2016 elect…
Ideologues without Issues
The distinction between a person’s ideological identity and their issue positions has come more clearly into focus in recent research. Scholars have pointed out a significant difference between identity-based and issue-based ideology in the American electorate. However, the affective and social effects of these separate elements of ideology have not been sufficiently explored. Drawing on a national sample collected by SSI and data from the 2016 A…
One Tribe to Bind Them All
Social sorting” is a concept used by Mason () to explain the process by which individuals' social identities grow increasingly aligned with a partisan identity, reducing social cross‐pressures on political behavior. Roccas and Brewer () have found that individuals who feel fewer cross‐pressures more strongly identify with their ingroups and are less tolerant of outgroups. Accordingly, we create “objective” and “subjective” measures of social sort…
Student-Run Exit Polls 101
As professors, we seek not only to impart knowledge about issues and concepts in American politics but also to engage and inspire students to become more knowledgeable and more active in politics. This article explains how a student-run exit poll conducted on Election Day 2016 accomplished both goals. Seven faculty members from four universities pooled our students and carried out an exit poll in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and …
An Inherited Money Dude from Queens County
Who’s at the Party? Group Sentiments, Knowledge, and Partisan Identity
In studying US partisanship, scholars often invoke a groups approach, wherein individuals’ group memberships affect their identification with the Democratic and Republican Parties. While this literature implies that partisanship stems from citizens’ sentiments toward the groups that constitute the parties’ membership, this particular proposition has not been thoroughly investigated. We, in turn, propose a group sentiments model of partisanship—a …
Activating Animus
Partisanship in American politics is inextricably linked with social identities, and sentiments toward party-aligned groups affect political orientations. However, out-group animosity may operate differently depending on the party or elite. We investigate the extent to which citizens' animus toward (Democratically aligned) minority groups drove political support for Donald Trump, whose incendiary rhetoric regarding such groups is unique in modern…
Parental income inequality and children’s digit ratio (2D
Income inequality is associated positively with disease prevalence and mortality. Digit ratio (2D:4D) – a negative proxy for prenatal testosterone and a positive correlate of prenatal oestrogen – is related to several diseases. This study examined the association of income inequality (operationalized as relative parental income) and children’s 2D:4D. Participants self-measured finger lengths (2D=index finger, and 4D=ring finger) in a large online…
Radical American Partisanship
Threats as Political Communication
Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsNathan P. KalmoeNathan P. Kalmoe is executive director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has written three scholarly books, two dozen academic articles, and many public essays on contentious politics and democrat…
“It wasn’t a real rape”
Cool Citizens? How Affectively Unpolarized Citizens View and Participate in Democracy
Does affective polarization change how citizens view and participate in democracy? We posit that the answer to this crucial question depends on how affectively un polarized citizens view and participate in democracy. Yet, the most common operationalization of affective polarization––measuring sympathy ratings for one party relative to another––does not differentiate between people’s absolute sympathy ratings for the parties, which may mask essent…
Mind the Gap
Political polarization in America has intensified beyond mere disagreement to what scholars characterize as sectarianism—a condition where partisan identity fundamentally shapes moral judgments. A key marker of sectarianism is asymmetric moral standards for violence, where aggression against political opponents is considered more justified than identical violence targeting one’s own group. Using a survey experiment featuring a realistic political…
How to Measure Public Support for Political Violence
With low but rising levels of violent political threats and violent acts by civilians in the United States, researchers increasingly want to measure violent public views—fearing the erosion of collective norms inhibiting violence while also regarding individual attitudes as a risk for rare violent action and more common forms of aggressive political behavior. But how should violent views be measured and interpreted? Drawing on our decade-plus res…
Political science (17 works) · Politics (16 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (14 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Law (11 works) · Social Media and Politics (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Identity (music (8 works)