Introduction Chapter 1: Partisanship and Ideology in Political Decision-Making Chapter 2: Elite Cues, Negative Partisanship, and the Changing Media Landscape Chapter 3: Partisanship, Policy, Compromise, and the Non-political Chapter 4: Partisanship, Race, and Intergroup Contact Chapter 5: Prospect Theory and Partisan Cues Chapter 6: Political Responsiveness to the Lived Experience Chapter 7: Independents, Knowledge, and Alienation Chapter 8: An Elite Problem Calls for an Elite Solution Appendix

Dyck and Pearson-Merkowitz conduct a wide-ranging investigation into the effects of partisanship. Drawing on surveys and an array of other data, they show that partisanship and partisan cues shape attitudes, behaviors, and preferences across a huge range of domains, extending well beyond the political realm. This creative and thought-provoking study illuminates the drivers of growing affective polarization in society, as well as the challenges facing American democracy ahead.

"Dyck and Pearson-Merkowitz conduct a wide-ranging investigation into the effects of partisanship. Drawing on surveys and an array of other data, they show that partisanship and partisan cues shape attitudes, behaviors, and preferences across a huge range of domains, extending well beyond the political realm. This creative and thought-provoking study illuminates the drivers of growing affective polarization in society, as well as the challenges facing American democracy ahead." -- Frances E. Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University "This book convincingly demonstrates how partisanship distorts our view of the world. Through a series of well-designed experiments, Dyck and Pearson-Merkowitz show how our responses to partisan signals affects everything from the politicians and policies we support to the foods we like. They also reveal how independent voters may be both more savvy than often portrayed and better able than partisans to realistically assess the world. This book is vital for those seeking to understand partisanship and its role in our political system." -- Seth Masket, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center on American Politics, University of Denver "In this groundbreaking book, Dyck and Pearson-Merkowitz go beyond the well-tread domain of how partisanship affects politics to document how deep the influence of affective attachments to parties has become. The pair make two key contributions. First, they document that partisanship has become so toxic that the ameliorative power of positive intergroup contactDLlong thought to reduce intergroup animosityDLhas little impact on how we view out-partisans. Second, they question the value of measures of political knowledge. As what we know about politics has become endogenous to partisanship, the political science canon about how political knowledge affects political preferences becomes upended and in need of revision. A must-read for students of American politics today." -- Alexandra Filindra, Associate Professor of Political Science and Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago "This is an important cautionary tale, well supported by the authors' evidence... Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals." -- Choice "This is an important cautionary tale, well supported by the authors' evidence." -- Choice

Joshua J. Dyck is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department and Director of the Center for Public Opinion at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is co-author of Initiatives without Engagement. Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz is Saul I. Stern Professor of Civic Engagement and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland.

Selling point: Argues that partisan polarization has far-reaching and toxic effects on how Americans behave both inside and outside the realm of politics Selling point: Examines how party cues affect well-established social science theories, including intergroup contact theory and prospect theory Selling point: Explains why partisans are willing to engage in risky and sometimes dangerous behavior for the sake of psychological partisan rewards Selling point: Demonstrates that political independents are more likely to use relevant information gained from their lived experience to develop their policy attitudes while partisans appear immune to their lived reality