Affective Political Polarization Pre- and Post-Election: Comparisons Two Months into the New Administration

In the current political climate, it seems as if the two main political parties are more polarized than ever. Although some studies have found that liberals are less likely than conservatives to express prejudice and affirm stereotypes (Sparkman & Eidelman, 2016), other studies have demonstrated that liberals and conservatives both hold prejudices toward groups they view as threatening (Brandt et al., 2014). While threatened by dissimilar groups, they also see groups similar to them favorably (Chambers et al., 2012). Another group of students working with a similar project investigated how the election may have affected attitudes of each group toward the other by measuring attitudes two weeks before and one week after the election. Since President Trump’s inauguration, there have been an influx of new policies that have gained a lot of attention on various media sources (Broadwater, 2025). This poster examines feelings now that these new policies have begun taking effect.