The effect of partisanship and political advertising on close family ties

Abstract

Curtailed conversations Most articles written about U.S. politics in the past few years have mentioned the increasing polarization of the electorate. But is this real, or does it merely reflect the increasing polarization of the media? Chen and Rohla estimate that in 2016, Thanksgiving dinners in which the hosts and guests lived in oppositely voting precincts were up to 50 minutes shorter than same-party-precinct dinners. That is, family members, adjured to avoid talking about contentious subjects, may have simply talked less. Science , this issue p. 1020