Understanding Polarization
The United States has forged through politically divisive eras, including the Civil War and the Gilded Age. Modern polarization has been on the rise since the 1960s, deepening further due to rising inequality, social disconnection, campaign rhetoric, partisan news coverage, and changing media landscape. The United States is among several nations experiencing political polarization. Political division takes shape in many forms.
Elite polarization refers to divisions within the political leadership class, including Congress and party leaders.
"Popular" or "Mass" polarization is a social division of the general public based on political groups.
Affective polarization is distrust and hostility towards political out-groups, with comfort and positivity towards in-groups.
Ideological polarization is based on contrasting belief systems and social views.
Social policy can also become polarized, as seen in response measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The three concepts below are critical for psychotherapists to understand when working with politically diverse populations. Sociopolitical identity and sociopolitical values provide important context for psychotherapy and should be considered key factors regarding human behavior in social environments, yet both are often underdiscussed in clinical training and education. Affective polarization is a vital concept for therapists working with clients who differ from them in sociopolitical identity. The distrust and overwhelming emotion pose unique challenges with building and maintaining a therapeutic alliance.
KEY CONCEPTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS
Affective Polarization
Affective Polarization can evoke a range of strong negative emotions, including distrust, anxiety, fear, anger, hatred, and schadenfreude (taking pleasure in another person's misfortune). These emotions can surface for the clinician, creating significant barriers to connecting with clients who hold different political beliefs. 4,5
Sociopolitical Identity
Social Identity refers to an individual's self-concept related to their group membership(s). 7 Sociopolitical groups may include cultural and political affiliations. This can provide a sense of belonging, which, in turn, can lead to intergroup tension. 7 Sociopolitical identity often intersects with other identities, including race, religion, and gender, and sexuality.
Sociopolitical Values
Values, virtues, and morals are profoundly meaningful belief systems that can look very different from one person to the next. They reflect a person's personality traits, biology , cognitive patterns, and relationship with their environment. 8