The last few years have been typified by an apparent polarization in political discourse towards the extremes of the spectrum.  There are numerous hypotheses attempting to explain why this has occurred, but a recent study from Dartmouth College suggests that the key is our social network, and specifically our need to get along with other people.

The research suggests that we tend to ignore vital information when we form opinions, which often results in partisanship and division.  The division is often the result of three factors, including a social pressure to form strong opinions, the way these opinions underpin our bonds with others, and the benefits we derive from these social connections.

These connections are hugely important, and we often bend our opinions to conform with our peers.  This willingness to conform to the views of the group reduces cognitive dissonance, which reduces our levels of stress.

“Human social tendencies are what form the foundation of that political behavior,” the authors say. “Ultimately, strong relationships can have more value than hard evidence, even for things that some would take as proven fact.”

Social bonds

The team constructed a mathematical model to explore how people receive information and the social pressure they are under to conform to certain points of view.  By extrapolating this model, the team were able to explore how divisions form and intensify, thus ultimately forming the kind of echo chambers that have been seen in politics in recent years.

“Understanding opinion evolution is a major research concern and is essential in the context of modern politics,” the researchers say. “We wanted to know how the structure of groups can change the way individuals develop their beliefs, and how those beliefs can then develop into blocs like those we see on social media.”

The authors reveal that interactions within a particular social network help to create complex social structures that are broadly along the same lines as political subcultures.  This process can be especially powerful in cultures, such as the United States, where social unity is important.

The data was correlated with voting record for the U.S. House of Representative between 1949 and 2011, with the congressional data appearing to support the models attempt to understand the partisanship noted in the real world.

The team next hope to explore how the validity of certain opinions is factored in and how evidence plays a part in the way we form our political opinions.  With the political world seeming to be ever more entrenched, it’s pleasing to see the body of research being done in this field growing apace.  It can’t come soon enough.