Affective polarization and subjective well-being in the brazilian political context

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2023.1.39825

Keywords:

political polarization, well-being, social groups, political psychology

Abstract

Those who identify with certain political positions tend to feel affectively distant from those who declare a diverging position from their own. Based on this, this article aims to assess the impact of affective polarization on the levels of subjective well-being of different groups in the first year of Bolsonaro’s government. 311 people responded an online survey composed of affective polarization and subjective well-being scales. 21% of participants declared to identify as left, 28,3% as center-left, 24,8% as center-right and 25,8% as right. High levels of affective polarization were identified in all investigated stances, as well as a decline in the subjective well-being of people who identify as left-wing. Thus, affective polarization is able to negatively impact subjective well-being.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Mario da Cruz Gloria Filho, Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brasil.

Mestre em Psicologia Social pela Universidade de Brasília (PSTO-UnB), em Brasília, DF, Brasil; especialista em Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), em Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil; psicólogo pelo Centro Universitário de Brasília (CEUB), em Brasília, DF, Brasil; Bacharel em Relações Internacionais pela Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB), em Brasília, DF, Brasil. Psicólogo clínico de adolescentes, adultos e idosos em consultório particular em Brasília, DF e Manaus, AM, Brasil.

João Gabriel Nunes Modesto, Centro Universitário de Brasília (CEUB), Brasília, DF, Brasil; Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG), Luziânia, GO, Brasil.

Doutor e mestre em Psicologia Social pela Universidade de Brasília (PSTO-UnB), em Brasília, DF, Brasil;
psicólogo pela Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), em Salvador, BA, Brasil. Professor do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gestão, Educação e Tecnologias da Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG), em Luziânia, GO, Brasil; e professor do Programa de Mestrado em Psicologia do Centro Universitário de Brasília (CEUB), em Brasília, DF, Brasil.

References

Albuquerque, A. S., & Tróccoli, B. T. (2004). Desenvolvimento de uma escala de bem-estar subjetivo. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 20(2), 153-164. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722004000200008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722004000200008

American National Election Services. (2019). The ANES guide to public opinion and electoral behavior. https://electionstudies.org/resources/anes-guide

Anderson, C. J., Blais, A., Bowler, S., Donovan, T., & Listhaug, O. (2005). Losers’ Consent: Elections and Democratic Legitimacy. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0199276382.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0199276382.001.0001

Altman, D., Flavin, P., & Radcliff, B. (2017). Democratic institutions and subjective well-being. Political Studies, 65(3), 685-704. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321716683203 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321716683203

Billig, M. G., & Tajfel, H. (1973). Social categorization and similarity in intergroup behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 3(1), 27-52. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420030103 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420030103

Brader, T., & Marcus, G. E. (2013). Emotion and political psychology. In L. Huddy, D. O. Sears, & J. S. Levy (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of political psychology (pp. 165–204). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199760107.013.0006

Brugnano, F., & Chaia, V. (2014). A nova polarização política nas eleições de 2014. Revista de Arte Mídia e Política, 7(21), 99-129. https://doi.org/10.23925/1982-6672

Burke, S. E., Calabrese, S. K., Dovidio, J. F., Levina, O. S., Uuskula, A., Niccolai, L., & Abel-Heimer, R. (2015). A tale of two cities: stigma and health outcomes among people with HIV who inject drugs in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kohtla-Jarve, Estonia. Social Science Medicine,

, 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.018

Campbell, R., & Heath, O. (2017) Do women vote for women candidates? Attitudes towards descriptive representation and voting behaviour in the 2010 British election. Politics and Gender, 13(2), 209-231. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X16000672 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X16000672

Carvalho, I. (2018, Outubro 10). Folha de S.Paulo. Perdemos todos. https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/ilona-szabo/2018/10/perdemos-todos.shtml

Couto, C., & Modesto, J. (2020). Facebook’s influence on political activism and radicalism. PsicoUSF, 25 (4), 637-644. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413/82712020250404 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1413/82712020250404

Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behaviors. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01

Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018). Advances in subjective well-being research. Nature Human Behavior, 2(4), 253-260. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6

Ditella, R., & MacCulloch, R. (2005). Partisan social happiness. Review of Economic Studies, 72 (2), 367-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2005.00336.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2005.00336.x

Fiske, S., Cuddy, A., & Glick, P. (2007). Universal dimensions of social cognition: Warmth and competence. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 11(2), 77-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.05 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.005

Flaxman, S., Goel, S., & Rao, J. (2016). Filter bubbles, echo chamber and online news consumption. Public Opinion Quaterly, 80(Special Issue), 298-320. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2363701 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw006

Gloria Filho, M., & Modesto, J. (2019). Morality, Activism and Radicalism in the Brazilian Left and Right. Trends in Psychology, 27(3), 763-777. https://doi.org/10.9788/TP2019.3-12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.9788/TP2019.3-12

Huber, G. A., & Malhotra, N. (2017). Political homophily in social relationships: Evidence from online dating behavior. The Journal of Politics, 79(1), 269-283. https://doi.org/10.1086/687533 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/687533

Iyengar, S. & Krupenkin, M. (2018). The strengthening of partisan effect. Advances in Political Psychology, 39(1), 201-218. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12487 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12487

Iyengar, S., & Massey, D. S. (2018). Scientific communication in a post-truth society. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(16), 7656-7661. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805868115 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805868115

Iyengar, S., Lelkes, Y., Levendusky, M., Malhotra, N., & Westwood, S. J. (2019). The origins and consequences of affective polarization in the United States. Annual Review of Political Science, 22(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034

Iyengar, S., Sood, S., & Lelkes, Y. (2012). Affect, not ideology: A social identity perspective on polarization. Public Opinion Quaterly, 76(3), 405-431. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs038 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs038

Iyengar, S., & Westwood, S. (2015). Fear and loathing across party lines: New evidence on group polarization. American Journal of Political Science, 59(3), 690-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12152 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12152

Kertzner, R. M., Meyer, I. H., Frost, D. M., & Stirratt, M. J. (2009). Social and psychological well-being in lesbians, gay men and bissexuals: the effects of race, gender, age and sexual identity. The American journal of orthopsychiatry, 79(4), 500-10. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016848 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016848

LaBar, K. (2016). Fear and anxiety. In L.F. Barrett, M. Lewis, & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (4th ed., pp. 751-773). Guilford Press.

Lewis, R. J., Derlega, V. J., Clarke, E. G., & Kuang, J. C. (2006). Stigma consciousness, social constraints and lesbian well-being. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 53(1), 48-65. https://doi.org/1037/0022-0167.53.1.48 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.48

McCarty, N. (2019). Polarization: What do we need to know. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/wentk/9780190867782.001.0001

McCoy, J., Rahman, T., & Somer, M. (2018). Polarization and the global crisis of democracy: Common patterns, dynamics and pernicious consequences for democratic polities. American Behavioral Scientist, 62 (1), 16-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218759576 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218759576

Meyer I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological bulletin, 129(5), 674-697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674

Newman, D. B., Schwarz, N., Graham, J., & Stone, A. (2019). Conservatives report greater meaning in life than liberals. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10(4), 494-503. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618768241 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618768241

Passos, U. (2018, Outubro 3). Para a maioria dos eleitores pensar no Brasil gera tristeza e desânimo. Folha de S. Paulo. https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2018/10/para-maioria-dos-eleitores-pensar-no-brasil-gera-tristeza-e-desanimo.shtml

Smith, K., Hibbing, M., & Hibbing, J. (2019). Friends, relatives, sanity and health: The costs of politics. PLoS ONE, 14(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221870 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221870

Suit, D., & Pereira, M. E. (2008). Vivência de estigma e enfrentamento em pessoas que convivem com HIV. Psicologia USP, 19(3), 317-340. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65642008000300004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65642008000300004

Sociedade Brasileira de Psicologia. (2018, Outubro). SBP Online. Angústia com as eleições vai parar no divã. http://www.sbponline.org.br/2018/10/angustias-com- -as-eleicoes-vao-parar-no-diva Tajfel, H. (1979). Individuals and groups in social psychology.

British Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology, 18(2), 183-190. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1979.tb00324.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1979.tb00324.x

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W.G. Austin & Stephen Worchel (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations (pp.33-47). Brooks; Cole.

Tajfel, H., Billig, M. G., Bundy, R. P., & Flament, C. (1971). Social categorization and intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1(2), 149-178. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420010202 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420010202

Tavits, M. (2008). Representation, corruption and subjective well-being. Comparative Political Studies, 41(12), 1607-1630. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414007308537 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414007308537

Turbiani, R. (2018, Outubro 26). Eleições 2018: Como a disputa presidencial está afetando a saúde mental dos brasileiros. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-45981225

Vilanova, F., Sousa, D., Koller, S., & Costa, A. (2018). Adaptação Transcultural e Estrutura Fatorial da Versão Brasileira da Escala Right-Wing Authoritarianism. Trends in Psychology, 26(3), 1299-1316. https://doi.org/10.9788/tp2018.3-07pt DOI: https://doi.org/10.9788/TP2018.3-07Pt

Wang, Y., Lewis, M., & Schweidel, D. (2018). A border strategy analysis of ad source and message tone in Senatorial Campaigns. Marketing Science,37(3), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2017.1079 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2017.1079

Wong, E. C., Collins, R. L., Cerully, J., Seelam, R. & Roth, B. (2017). Racial and ethnic differences in mental illness stigma and discrimination among Californians experiencing mental health challenges. Rand Health Quarterly, 6(2), 6. https://doi.org/10.7249/RR1441 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RR1441

Yzerbyt, V. & Demoulin, S. (2010). Intergroup Relations. In Fiske, S., Gilbert, D., & Lindzey, G. (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology (5th ed., pp.1024-1083) John Wiley & Sons. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy002028

Downloads

Published

2023-08-21

How to Cite

Gloria Filho, M. da C., & Nunes Modesto, J. G. (2023). Affective polarization and subjective well-being in the brazilian political context. Psico, 54(1), e39825 . https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2023.1.39825

Issue

Vol. 54 No. 1 (2023): Single Volume - Continuous Flow of Publication

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Psico

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright

The submission of originals to Psico implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Psico as the site of original publication.

Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise specified, material published in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is correctly cited.