Victimhood, partisan identities, and media consumption in the U.S

Adam Mayer and Perry Parks

No g48x3, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Political partisanship is typically understood as a social identity. Partisans vary in the strength of their identity—some are deeply attached to their partisanship, while for others it is not highly salient. Media is often highlighted as a causal factor in polarization. We explain how social groups—particularly those that are large, geographically diffuse, and share no obvious common interests—require collective narratives to engender a sense of shared experience and intensify group identity. We suggest that narratives about victimization provide this sense of shared experience. Using survey data, we explore how perceptions of victimization relate to partisanship, media consumption and social media use. Republicans and Democrats perceive that their respective partisan groups experience victimization, but victimhood perceptions appear to be more entrenched for Republicans. Conservative media is associated with perceptions of Republican victimization and Republicans with a strong partisan identity are more likely to state that Republicans experience victimization.

Date: 2024-06-21
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:g48x3

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/g48x3

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