All-American Bipartisan Bias

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As is plain to see, Americans are living in a politically polarized era. “Partisan animus is at an all-time high,” reports Stanford political scientist Shanto Iyengar. Nearly 6 in 10 Republicans and Democrats have “very unfavorable” opinions of the other party, and most engaged party adherents feel “angry” about the other party. “Partisans discriminate against opposing partisans, doing so to a degree that exceeds discrimination based on race,” conclude Iyengar and Sean Westwood from their study of “Fear and Loathing Across Party Lines.” If you are American, do you find yourself disdaining those with opposing political views more than those in any other social category (including race, gender, and sexual orientation)? Would you want your child to marry someone aligned with the other party?

 

Americans on both sides also tend to see the other side (compared to their own) as more extreme in its ideology. It’s hard not to agree that those in the other party seem more extreme and biased.

 

But are they? Multiple research teams—at Tillburg University, the University of Florida, the College of New Jersey, and the University of California, Irvine—have found similar bias and willingness to discriminate among both conservatives and liberals. At the latter university, a forthcoming meta-analysis of 41 studies by Peter Ditto and his colleagues “found clear evidence of partisan bias in both liberals and conservatives, and at virtually identical levels.” When evidence supports our views, we find it cogent; when the same evidence contradicts our views, we fault it.

 

We can see equal opportunity bias in opinion polls. Last December, 67 percent of Trump supporters said that unemployment had increased during the progressive Obama years. (It actually declined from 8 to less than 5 percent.) And at the end of the conservative Reagan presidency, more than half of self-identified strong Democrats believed inflation had risen under Reagan. Only 8 percent thought it had substantially dropped—as it did, from 13 to 4 percent.

 

Peter Ditto’s conclusion: “Bias is bipartisan.” This humbling finding is a reminder to us all of how easy it is (paraphrasing Jesus) to “see the speck in your neighbor’s eye” while not noticing the sometimes bigger speck in our own.

About the Author
David Myers has spent his entire teaching career at Hope College, Michigan, where he has been voted “outstanding professor” and has been selected by students to deliver the commencement address. His award-winning research and writings have appeared in over three dozen scientific periodicals and numerous publications for the general public. He also has authored five general audience books, including The Pursuit of Happiness and Intuition: Its Powers and Perils. David Myers has chaired his city's Human Relations Commission, helped found a thriving assistance center for families in poverty, and spoken to hundreds of college and community groups. Drawing on his experience, he also has written articles and a book (A Quiet World) about hearing loss, and he is advocating a transformation in American assistive listening technology (see www.hearingloop.org).