Intercoder reliability.

Various studies point to the lack of evidence of distributive opinion polarization in Europe. As most studies analyse the same item batteries from international social surveys, this lack of polarization might be due to an item’s issue (e.g., the nature or substance of an item) or item formulation characteristics used to measure polarization. Based on a unique sample of 817 political attitudinal items asked in 2022 by respondents of a non-random online panel in Germany, we empirically assess the item characteristics most likely to lead to distributive opinion polarization–measured with the Van der Eijk agreement index. Our results show that only 20% of the items in our sample have some–at most moderate–level of opinion polarization. Moreover, an item’s salience in the news media before the survey data collection, whether an item measures attitudes toward individual financial and non-financial costs, and the implicit level of knowledge required to answer an item (level of technicality) are significantly associated with higher opinion polarization. By contrast, items measuring a cultural issue (such as issues on gender, LGTBQI+, and ethnic minorities) and items with a high level of abstraction are significantly associated with a lower level of polarization. Our study highlights the importance of reflecting on the potential influence of an item’s issue and item formulation characteristics on the empirical assessment of distributive opinion polarization.多项研究均表明，欧洲未出现分配式意见极化（distributive opinion polarization）的实证证据。由于多数研究均采用国际社会调查中的成套问卷项目开展分析，这种极化缺失的现象，可能源于问卷项目的议题属性（如项目的本质与内涵）或用于极化测量的问题表述特征。本研究基于2022年德国非随机在线调研面板受访者填写的817项政治态度问卷项目的独特样本，以范德伊克一致性指数（Van der Eijk agreement index）作为测量工具，实证评估了最易引发分配式意见极化的问卷项目特征。研究结果显示，本研究样本中仅有20%的问卷项目呈现出一定程度（最高为中等程度）的意见极化现象。此外，问卷项目在调研数据收集前的新闻媒体中凸显程度、是否测量受访者对个体财务与非财务成本的态度，以及作答所需的隐性知识水平（专业技术性程度），均与更高水平的意见极化显著相关。与之相对，测量文化议题（如性别、LGTBQI+群体及少数族裔相关议题）的问卷项目，以及抽象程度较高的问卷项目，则与更低水平的意见极化显著相关。本研究强调，在开展分配式意见极化的实证评估时，需充分考量问卷项目的议题属性与表述特征所带来的潜在影响。