Understanding Polarization: Meanings, Measures, and Model Evaluation
Abstract
Polarization is a topic of intense interest among social scientists, but there is significant disagreement regarding the character of the phenomenon and little understanding of underlying mechanics. A first problem, we argue, is that polarization appears in the literature as not one concept but many. In the first part of the article, we distinguish nine phenomena that may be considered polarization, with suggestions of appropriate measures for each. In the second part of the article, we apply this analysis to evaluate the types of polarization generated by the three major families of computational models proposing specific mechanisms of opinion polarization.
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- Authors
- Bramson, A., Grim, P., Singer, D. J., Berger, W. J., Sack, G., Fisher, S., Flocken, C., & Holman, B.
- Venue
- Philosophy of Science
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2017-01
- Volume
- 84
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 115-159
- ISSN
- 0031-8248 (ISSN-L)
- 1539-767X
- OpenAlex
- W2507159341
- Cited by
- 216
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 2.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Philosophy of Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Income, Poverty, and Inequality
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Keywords
- opinion polarization, polarization measures, model evaluation, social polarization
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