Does Collectivism Make a Difference? A Comparative Test of Common Ingroup Strategies to Reduce Affective Polarization

Abstract

Abstract Common national identity appeals have been identified as one of the most promising strategies to reduce affective political polarization. However, research on this is concentrated in highly individualistic Western democracies. Because much of the global population lives in more collectivist societies, it is important to conduct comparative tests to see if common national identity appeals operate similarly when considering the increasingly global problem of polarization. In this study, we investigate how the individualism–collectivism dimension of culture interacts with national identity salience as a polarization reduction strategy. Survey experiments were conducted in South Korea and the US. We find that priming national identity increases national pride much more in collectivist societies, but that the depolarizing effect of our national identity prime was only indirect and limited.