Perspective-Taking and Partisan Depolarization in the U.S. and Turkey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21475591 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cansu Paksoy (0000-0002-9519-9336, Koç University, corresponding author), Leonie Huddy (0000-0003-1313-625X, Stony Brook University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-9320 • E-ISSN: 1573-6687 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11109-026-10175-2 |
| OpenAlex | W7165527470 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 125 |
There is keen research interest in the reduction of affective polarization, which can worsen interpersonal interactions and challenge democratic norms. Past research has generated inconsistent findings on efforts to reduce affective polarization, however, including their ability to backfire. Additionally, studies have primarily focused on the two-party U.S. political system, resulting in less information about the success of interventions in a multiparty system. In this study, we test the ability of perspective-taking (PT) to reduce affective polarization in two highly polarized contexts: Turkey, a typical multi-party context, and the U.S. two-party system. We use a specific form of PT, perspective-getting (PG), which is less likely to backfire and has proven to be more successful than other forms of PT in mitigating polarization. Data is drawn from a Facebook sample in Turkey (N = 605), and an MTurk sample in the U.S. (N = 386; 186 Republicans, 200 Democrats). The PG intervention improved attitudes towards an out-partisan target person in both national contexts and boosted feelings of warmth towards outpartisans more generally in both countries when compared to a control condition. The PG intervention was less successful in reducing negative cognitions about out-partisans. This study documents the success of a PG exercise and lends insight into the reduction of affective polarization in two national contexts
Democracy · Feeling · Interpersonal communication · Intervention (counseling) · Polarization (electrochemistry) · Politics · Psychological intervention · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Mental Health Research Topics · Social and Intergroup Psychology
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The Effects of Perspective-Taking on Prejudice
Sample Size Justification
Personal experiences bridge moral and political divides better than facts
The effect of partisanship and political advertising on close family ties
The promise and pitfalls of cross-partisan conversations for reducing affective polarization
Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism
Exposure to opposing views on social media can increase political polarization
Exploring the Paradox of Cross-Cutting Exposure and Affective Polarization
Reducing political polarization through narrative writing
Elections and partisanship
The Psychology of Self‐defense
Perspective‐Taking as a Strategy for Improving Intergroup Relations
The (alleged) consequences of affective polarization
A review and provocation
Intergroup threat and affective polarization in a multi-party system
Losing Common Ground
Social Media, Messaging Apps, and Affective Polarization in the United States and Japan
A key to Turkish politics? the center–periphery framework revisited
Political Preferences of the Turkish Electorate
Perspective-taking techniques in the mediation of intergroup conflict
Longitudinal effects of contact on intergroup relations
The effects of virtual racial embodiment in a gaming app on reducing prejudice
Perspective taking and prejudice reduction
The Role of Empathy in Improving Intergroup Relations
Prejudice as self-image maintenance
Perspective taking combats the denial of intergroup discrimination
Seeing the other side
Expressive Versus Instrumental Partisanship in Multiparty European Systems
Affective polarization in Europe
The Ideological Foundations of Affective Polarization in the U.S. Electorate
The Sources of Political Tolerance
Formal yet ineffective opposition coordination under competitive authoritarianism
The Group Basis of Partisan Affective Polarization
The Parties in Our Heads
(Mis)estimating Affective Polarization
Political Homophily in Social Relationships
Americans, Not Partisans
Cross-Partisan Conversation Reduced Affective Polarization for Republicans and Democrats Even after the Contentious 2020 Election
The Limits of Partisan Prejudice
Looking for Affective Polarisation in Spain
Kulturkampfin Turkey
Ideological Tripolarization, Partisan Tribalism and Institutional Trust
A Cross-Cutting Calm
When Efforts to Depolarize the Electorate Fail
Seeing the Other Side? Perspective-Taking and Reflective Political Judgements in Interpersonal Deliberation
Policy over party
Triangulating Political Responsibility
Reducing Affective Polarization
The Interplay of Empathy and Individualism in Support for Social Welfare Policies
One Tribe to Bind Them All
Reducing Political Dehumanization by Pairing Facts With Personal Experiences
The Strengthening of Partisan Affect
Can Interparty Contact Reduce Affective Polarization? A Systematic Test of Different Forms of Intergroup Contact
Dynamics of Campaign Reporting and Press-Party Parallelism
Partisan Media Exposure and Attitudes Toward the Opposition
Partisanship as a Social Identity
When Corrections Fail
Affective Polarization
Does Politics Influence Hiring? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment
How Ideology Fuels Affective Polarization
Empathy, Deservingness, and Preferences for Welfare Assistance
Partisan Motivated Empathy and Policy Attitudes
Reflective political reasoning
The rise of the democracy – authoritarianism cleavage and opposition coordination in Turkey (2014–2019)
United we stand, divided we rule
Party Competition and Cooperation Shape Affective Polarization
Partisanship and Autocratization
What Can Depolarize the Polarizers? Affective Polarization for Party Activists Before and After Elections
Fear and Loathing across Party Lines
The Economic Consequences of Partisanship in a Polarized Era
The Nature of Affective Polarization
Which Narrative Strategies Durably Reduce Prejudice? Evidence from Field and Survey Experiments Supporting the Efficacy of Perspective‐Getting
Political Competition, Partisanship and Interpersonal Trust in Electoral Democracies
Escaping affect
Effect of perspective taking on the cognitive representation of persons
Perspective mistaking
Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias
Perspective-taking
A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory
Measuring individual differences in empathy
The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States
Affect, Not Ideology
Turkey
Affective blocs
Populist Appeals, Emotions, and Political Mobilization
Mass Partisan Polarization
Affective polarization in multiparty systems
The measurement of partisan sorting for 180 million voters
A spatial analysis of Turkish party preferences
Expressive Partisanship
Testing the Robustness of the Anes Feeling Thermometer Indicators of Affective Polarization
How Empathic Concern Fuels Political Polarization
Voter Outreach Campaigns Can Reduce Affective Polarization among Implementing Political Activists
Perceiving opponents as self-disclosing bridges partisan divides
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |