The impact of survey mode on the measurement of polarization in the public: 2016–2020 U.S. panel evidence
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Over the last 40 years, affective polarization has noticeably increased, with recent elections showing especially large gains. Moreover, these increases have surpassed other indicators of polarization, such as issue attitudes and partisan-ideological sorting. Could the recent surge in affective polarization be influenced by the growing use of internet-based, self-administered surveys? I argue that measures of partisan affect are more vulnerable to mode effects than other indicators of polarization. In this paper, I employ American National Election Studies panel data from 2016 to 2020. Crucially, in 2016 the survey was conducted with a dual mode in which a portion of respondents were interviewed in the traditional face-to-face format while others completed a self-administered online survey. Both sets of respondents were re-interviewed in 2020 where all respondents completed the survey online. I find that differences in party affective polarization and candidate trait ratings between the two modes, substantial in 2016, largely disappear when social desirability effects are removed. In contrast, issue extremity and partisan-ideological sorting show no noticeable mode effects.
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There are important mode effects in ANES affective polarization measurement: online respondents feel warmer toward their own party and colder toward the opposing party than face-to-face respondents.
“Figure 2A clearly indicates that there are important mode effects.Those in the online sample feel warmer toward their own party and colder toward the opposing party (also see Thornton, 2025).”
From Measuring affective polarization: Matching concepts to measures (2026) · cites this paper as Thornton, 2025
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Measuring affective polarization: Matching concepts to measures
Druckman, J. N., Klar, S., Krupnikov, Y., Levendusky, M., & Ryan, J. B. (2026) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.70152 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Election outcomes and social trust in polarized times
Williamson, M., Lee, A. H., Rubenson, D. L., Srbinovska, I., Sumantry, D., Davids, J., Maulucci, A., & Kisin, K. (2026) · Electoral Studies · doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2026.103082
- Authors
- Thornton, J. R.
- Affiliations
- Georgia State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Thornton, Judd R.
- ORCID
- Thornton, Judd R.
- Venue
- American Politics Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2025-05-30
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 531-543
- ISSN
- 0044-7803 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-673X
- 1552-3373
- OpenAlex
- W4410888668
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2
- FWCI
- 7.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- American Politics Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Survey Sampling and Estimation Techniques
- Keywords
- affective polarization, survey mode effects, face-to-face interviews, social desirability bias, American National Election Studies
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