Political independents are more negative than partisans
In this era of extreme partisanship, the people who express the most negativity in their political choices are those we may least expect: independents. In a new paper, researchers conducted five studies in which they found that independents were more likely than partisans to frame their position in terms of opposition to one party, candidate, message or option rather than in support of the other choice.
And it’s not just in politics: One study found that “independents” who didn’t have a strong preference of baseball teams, or even academic subjects and ice cream flavors were more likely to choose based on what they didn’t like than on what they liked. “It’s common to blame negative partisanship for our political polarization and dysfunction that we have in politics today. You see that explanation in media articles frequently,” said Joseph Siev, who led the study as a doctoral student in psychology at The Ohio State University.