Affective polarization in a word: Open-ended and self-coded evaluations of partisan affect.

The literature finds that partisanship drives negative emotional evaluations of out-partisans. Yet, scholars base these insights on measures-like thermometers, candidate evaluations, and social-distance measures-that discount the sentiment attached to individuals' negative attitudes. We introduce a unique measure of affect capturing the motivation underpinning partisans' attitudes.

Polarization in COVID-19 Vaccine Discussion Networks.

The emergence of COVID-19 spurred the fastest development of a vaccine in history. Yet, a large proportion of Americans remain hesitant to receive it. Our paper investigates how the social networks we inhabit might explain persistent vaccine hesitancy.