Who is the Party? The Effect of Counter-Stereotypical Partisan Exemplars on Inter-Party Stereotypes and Affect

Partisans hold negative and inaccurate stereotypes of members of the out-party. In this paper we test the effectiveness of exposure to counter-stereotypical exemplars as a strategy for changing stereotypes and reducing partisan animosity. This strategy builds on the exemplification theory of stereotype formation, which holds that stereotypes of out-groups are constructed from exemplary group members that are salient in an individual’s memory. Drawing on an established experimental paradigm for studying racial stereotypes, we test this theory using an experiment that exposes partisans to either ideologically stereotypical or ideologically counter-stereotypical exemplars of their out-party. This strategy is notably more indirect than most strategies tested to reduce affective polarization, which rely on directly providing information, often in the form of misperception correction, about the distribution of out-party views. Despite this more indirect approach, our results suggest that exposure to counter-stereotypical exemplars can moderate stereotypes of partisan ideology and improve affect towards the out-party, relative to exposure to stereotypical exemplars. These results have important implications for our understanding of how negative and inaccurate views of the out-party form, and also suggest methods for reducing partisan animosity.