Replication Data for: The Moral Roots of Partisan Division: How Moral Conviction Heightens Affective Polarization

Partisan bias and hostility have increased substantially over the last few decades in the American electorate, and previous work shows that partisan strength and sorting help drive this trend. Drawing on insights from moral psychology, however, we posit that partisan moral convictions heighten affective polarization beyond the effects of partisanship, increasing partisan animosity and copartisan favoritism. Testing this theory using data from two national samples and novel measures of affective polarization in everyday life, we find that people who tend to moralize politics display more partisan bias, distance, and hostility, irrespective of partisan strength. These results shed light on a different moral divide that separates the American public and raise key normative questions about moral conviction and electoral politics.近数十年来，美国选民群体中的党派偏见与敌对情绪已显著加剧。既往研究表明，党派认同强度与党派分选（partisan sorting）是推动这一趋势的重要驱动因素。然而，本研究借鉴道德心理学（moral psychology）的研究视角，提出假说：党派道德信念会在党派认同的影响之外进一步加剧情感极化（affective polarization），推高党派敌意与同党派偏袒（copartisan favoritism）。本研究借助两份全国性样本数据，以及针对日常生活中情感极化的新型测量工具对该假说进行检验，结果发现：倾向于将政治议题道德化的个体，无论其党派认同强度如何，均表现出更强烈的党派偏见、社交距离与敌对情绪。本研究结果揭示了美国公众之间存在的另一重道德裂痕，并提出了若干与道德信念及选举政治相关的重要规范性议题。