{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,30]],"date-time":"2026-10-30T07:15:19Z","timestamp":1793344519633,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":81,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"47","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,13]],"date-time":"2023-11-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699833600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,21]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    American political parties continue to grow more polarized, but the extent of ideological polarization among the public is much less than the extent of perceived polarization (what the ideological gap is believed to be). Perceived polarization is concerning because of its link to interparty hostility, but it remains unclear what drives this phenomenon. We propose that a tendency for individuals to form broad generalizations about groups on the basis of inconsistent evidence may be partly responsible. We study this tendency by measuring the interpretation, endorsement, and recall of category-referring statements, also known as generics (e.g., \u201cDemocrats favor affirmative action\u201d). In study 1 (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 417), perceived polarization was substantially greater than actual polarization. Further, participants endorsed generics as long as they were true more often of the target party (e.g., Democrats favor affirmative action) than of the opposing party (e.g., Republicans favor affirmative action), even when they believed such statements to be true for well below 50% of the relevant party. Study 2 (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 928) found that upon receiving information from political elites, people tended to recall these statements as generic, regardless of whether the original statement was generic or not. Study 3 (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 422) found that generic statements regarding new political information led to polarized judgments and did so more than nongeneric statements. Altogether, the data indicate a tendency toward holding mental representations of political claims that exaggerate party differences. These findings suggest that the use of generic language, common in everyday speech, enables inferential errors that exacerbate perceived polarization.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2309361120","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,13]],"date-time":"2023-11-13T15:08:51Z","timestamp":1699888131000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Generically partisan: Polarization in political communication"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"120","author":[{"given":"Gustavo","family":"Novoa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Political Science, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Margaret","family":"Echelbarger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Business, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 1179"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6975-2601","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew","family":"Gelman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Political Science, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025"},{"name":"Department of Statistics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1005-2691","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susan A.","family":"Gelman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","volume-title":"The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy","author":"Abramowitz A. I.","year":"2010","unstructured":"A. I. Abramowitz, The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy (Yale University Press, 2010)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022381608080493"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","volume-title":"Culture War: The Myth of a Polarized America","author":"Fiorina M. P.","year":"2005","unstructured":"M. P. Fiorina, S. J. Abrams, J. C. Pope, Culture War: The Myth of a Polarized America (Pearson Longman, 2005)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/pol.2014.10"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/poq\/nfs038"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/wentk\/9780190867782.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_2","volume-title":"Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches","author":"McCarty N.","year":"2006","unstructured":"N. McCarty, K. T. Poole, H. Rosenthal, Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches (MIT Press, 2006)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0002716216658921"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/697253"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/poq\/nfw005"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11109-018-9476-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7208\/chicago\/9780226820279.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2116851119"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.polisci.11.053106.153836"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/pops.12487"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ajps.12152"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.electstud.2015.11.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/687533"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polgeo.2014.11.003"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11109-014-9286-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aaq1433"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/715603"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0020697"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2001263117"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1532673X17703132"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691615569849"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/pops.12479"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_2","volume-title":"Democracy for Realists","author":"Achen C. H.","year":"2017","unstructured":"C. H. Achen, L. M. Bartels, Democracy for Realists (Princeton University Press, 2017)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1561\/100.00000010"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_30_2","volume-title":"Prius or Pickup?: How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America\u2019s Great Divide","author":"Hetherington M.","year":"2018","unstructured":"M. Hetherington, J. Weiler, Prius or Pickup?: How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America\u2019s Great Divide (Houghton Mifflin, 2018)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203112137"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_32_2","volume-title":"Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches","author":"McCarty N.","year":"2016","unstructured":"N. McCarty, K. T. Poole, H. Rosenthal, Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches (MIT Press, 2016)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781139878425"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_34_2","volume-title":"The Generic Book","author":"Carlson G. N.","year":"1995","unstructured":"G. N. Carlson, F. J. Pelletier, The Generic Book (University of Chicago Press, 1995)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_35_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780195154061.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1215\/00318108-2007-023"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S1364-6613(99)01429-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/rev0000142"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_39_2","volume-title":"The Big Book of Concepts","author":"Murphy G.","year":"2004","unstructured":"G. Murphy, The Big Book of Concepts (MIT Press, 2004)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1621073114"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_41_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0047404521000282"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01690960802223485"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_43_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1520-8583.2007.00138.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1551-6709.2010.01126.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_45_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327647JCD0302_3"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2009.07.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_47_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cogpsych.2010.06.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_48_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/cdev.13527"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_49_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1208951109"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_50_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.01274"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_51_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cogpsych.2021.101408"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_52_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797620953132"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_53_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cogpsych.2011.12.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_54_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G. Novoa M. Echelbarger A. Gelman S. A. Gelman Polarization in Political Communication. Open Science Framework. https:\/\/osf.io\/kdrq6\/. Deposited 13 September 2023.","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2309361120"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_55_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-016-0727-z"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_56_2","unstructured":"T. W. Smith M. Davern J. Freese S. L. Morgan General Social Surveys 1972-2018 [machine-readable data file]\/Principal Investigator Smith Tom W.; Co-Principal Investigators Michael Davern Jeremy Freese and Stephen L. Morgan; Sponsored by National Science Foundation. --NORC ed.-- Chicago: NORC 2019. 1 data file (64 814 logical records) + 1 codebook (3 758 pp.). -- (National Data Program for the Social Sciences no. 25)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_57_2","article-title":"Cooperative election study common content, 2020","author":"Schaffner B.","year":"2021","unstructured":"B. Schaffner, S. Ansolabehere, S. Luks, \u201cCooperative election study common content, 2020\u201d. Harvard Dataverse, 1 (2021). 10.7910\/DVN\/E9N6PH.","journal-title":"Harvard Dataverse, 1"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_58_2","article-title":"Public\u2019s priorities for U.S. Asylum policy: more judges for cases, safe conditions for migrants","author":"Dunn A.","unstructured":"A. Dunn, \u201cPublic\u2019s priorities for U.S. Asylum policy: more judges for cases, safe conditions for migrants\u201d Pew Research Center\u2013U.S. Politics & Policy (blog). https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2019\/08\/12\/publics-priorities-for-u-s-asylum-policy-more-judges-for-cases-safe-conditions-for-migrants\/. 12 August 2019.","journal-title":"Pew Research Center\u2013U.S. Politics & Policy"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_59_2","unstructured":"L. Hamel \u201c KFF COVID-19 vaccine monitor: September 2021\u201d KFF (2021). https:\/\/www.kff.org\/coronavirus-covid-19\/poll-finding\/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-september-2021\/. Accessed 28 September 2021."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_60_2","unstructured":"C. Williams \u201cMillennial voters are most likely to back total federal student loan forgiveness\u201d Morning Consult Pro (2021). https:\/\/pro.morningconsult.com\/articles\/student-loan-debt-forgiveness-poll. Accessed 22 December 2021."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_61_2","article-title":"Religion in the public schools","author":"Mitchell T.","unstructured":"T. Mitchell, \u201cReligion in the public schools\u201d Pew Research Center\u2019s Religion & Public Life Project (blog). https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2019\/10\/03\/religion-in-the-public-schools-2019-update\/. 3 October 2019.","journal-title":"Pew Research Center\u2019s Religion & Public Life Project"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_62_2","unstructured":"R. Nadeem \u201c45% of Americans say U.S. should be a \u2018christian nation\u201d Pew Research Center\u2019s Religion & Public Life Project (blog). https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2022\/10\/27\/45-of-americans-say-u-s-should-be-a-christian-nation\/. 27 October 2022."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_63_2","unstructured":"A. Kirzinger \u201c KFF Poll: Public opinion and knowledge on reproductive health policy\u201d KFF (2019). https:\/\/www.kff.org\/womens-health-policy\/poll-finding\/kff-poll-public-opinion-and-knowledge-on-reproductive-health-policy\/. Accessed 3 May 2019."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_64_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/xlm0001100"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_65_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15475441.2019.1571418"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_66_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/cogs.12189"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_67_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0305000915000483"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_68_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0000297"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_69_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/rev0000160"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_70_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0140806"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_71_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1817706116"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_72_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"N. C. Dias J. Pearl Y. Lelkes American partisans vastly (and consequentially) underestimate the diversity of other partisans\u2019 attitudes (2023). 10.31219\/osf.io\/spm5x.","DOI":"10.31219\/osf.io\/spm5x"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_73_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jecp.2016.11.013"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_74_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511809477"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_75_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1811987116"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_76_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1956248"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_77_2","volume-title":"Ideology and Discontent","author":"Converse P. E.","year":"1964","unstructured":"P. E. Converse, \u201cThe nature of belief systems in mass publics\u201d in Ideology and Discontent, D. Apter, Ed. (Free Press, New York, 1964)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_78_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/700005"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_79_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11109-018-09525-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_80_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/711408"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_81_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/rest_a_01160"}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.2309361120","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,25]],"date-time":"2023-12-25T14:14:10Z","timestamp":1703513650000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2309361120"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,13]]},"references-count":81,"journal-issue":{"issue":"47","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,21]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1073\/pnas.2309361120"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2309361120","relation":{},"ISSN":["0027-8424","1091-6490"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0027-8424","type":"print"},{"value":"1091-6490","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,13]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2023-06-03","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-09-25","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-11-13","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e2309361120"}}