The attitudinal space framework: Embracing the multidimensionality of attitudinal diversity

• Published in: iScience Vol. 26; no. 8; p. 107340
• Main Authors: Arbieu, Ugo, Albrecht, Jörg, Böhning-Gaese, Katrin, Lehnen, Lisa, Schleuning, Matthias, Mueller, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 18-08-2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Sciences; Humanities and Social Sciences; Nature conservation; Psychology; Social sciences; Ecology; Social sciences; Psychology; Nature conservation
• ISSN: 2589-0042; 2589-0042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107340

Attitude polarization describes an increasing attitude difference between groups and is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional phenomenon. However, a unified framework to study polarization across multiple dimensions is lacking. We introduce the attitudinal space framework (ASF) to fully quantify attitudinal diversity. We highlight two key measures—attitudinal extremization and attitudinal dispersion—to quantify across- and within-group attitudinal patterns. First, we show that affective polarization in the US electorate is weaker than previously thought based on mean differences alone: in both Democrat and Republican partisans, attitudinal dispersion increased between 1988 and 2008. Second, we examined attitudes toward wolves in Germany. Despite attitude differences between regions with and without wolves, we did not find differences in attitudinal extremization or dispersion, suggesting only weak attitude polarization. These results illustrate how the ASF is applicable to a wide range of social systems and offers an important avenue to understanding societal transformations.
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•Attitude polarization is increasingly understood as a multidimensional phenomenon•We introduce the attitudinal space framework to quantify attitudinal diversity•Affective polarization in the US electorate may be weaker than previously thought•In a second case study we found weak polarization in attitudes toward wolves in Germany
Nature conservation; Ecology; Social sciences; Psychology