Key Takeaways
- Group polarization happens when group opinions become more extreme than those of the individual members.
- Social comparison can make people change their views to fit in with a group.
- People may feel less responsible for decisions made in a group, leading to riskier choices.
Group polarization is a psychological phenomenon in which the beliefs, attitudes, and decisions of groups tend to be more amplified or more extreme than those held by individual group members.
Essentially, the collective opinion of the group is magnified, which can lead to more extreme viewpoints than those that individual members of the group actually hold.
Various factors contribute to group polarization. “Strong feelings about a particular topic, moral or ethical, or political stance can lead to polarization,” explains Seli Fakorzi, MA, LPC-S, the Director of Mental Health Operations at TimelyCare. The reasons people become so passionate about a particular topic can vary, but Fakorzi suggests that this emotional attachment often stems from their lived experiences.
The problem is that when people encounter others who don’t share those experiences, they often find themselves having to defend their viewpoints. This can be a difficult and even stressful experience for some people.
As a result, Fakorzi explains, people often gravitate toward like-minded individuals who offer a sense of camaraderie and belonging. This can reduce conflict and distress, but it can further deepen polarization.
This article explores why group polarization happens, real-world examples, and how to minimize its effects.
How Does Group Polarization Happen?
Group polarization involves a phenomenon known as a choice shift. Choice shift means that after group interaction, the mean attitude of the group changes from the initial attitude. Group polarization happens when this choice shift involves an intensification of that initial attitude.
While these two terms are related, they are distinct concepts. Group polarization always involves a choice shift, but a choice shift can occur without group polarization.
Social psychologists have proposed a few different ideas to explain why group polarization takes place, including social network influence theory, for example. This theory focuses on the role of social relationships in communicating information that leads to behavior and attitude changes.
According to this theory, the choice shifts that lead to group polarization can be caused by social comparison, persuasive arguments, social identity, informational influence, and diffusion of responsibility.
Social Comparison
People often evaluate the accuracy of their own beliefs by comparing them to other people in the group. This can be a problem, however, if a person finds that their own ideas diverge from those of the group.
Adopting the views of the rest of group helps people feel more positively about themselves.
Persuasive Arguments
Group members naturally interact and discuss what matters to them individually and collectively. These interactions lead people to encounter persuasive arguments that can help reinforce their current beliefs.
In many cases, such arguments play a role in strengthening a person’s convictions or even making their original beliefs more extreme.
Social Identity
The need to maintain a social identity and fitting in with the rest of the group can also contribute to group polarization. When it seems like the rest of the group holds a certain viewpoint, people may then feel compelled to shift their own ideas in order to identify with the group and achieve a sense of belonging.
Seli Fakorzi, MA, LPC-S
Individuals may gravitate toward the beliefs of a group to gain acceptance and identify with a community. For many, the sense of belonging is incredibly important to their feelings of worth, purpose, and acceptance.
— Seli Fakorzi, MA, LPC-S
Informational Influence
Interactions within the group also contribute to the transmission of information. As a result, people are exposed to arguments and ideas that they would otherwise not encounter.
This can lead people to re-evaluate their perspective and, in many cases, shift their attitudes toward these more extreme viewpoints.
Diffusion of Responsibility
A social phenomenon known as diffusion of responsibility can also contribute to group polarization.
When people participate in a group, they often feel less of a sense of personal responsibility for the outcome. Because the decisions and outcomes feel less personal, people are often more willing to make riskier, more extreme choices than they would if they were making such decisions independently.
Other Factors That Play a Role
Fakorzi also notes that decreased in-person interaction can make it easier for people to disregard the effects of intolerance for other points of view.
“With more interaction being digital and internet-based, there is a distance/disconnect that may also diminish the human connection,” she explains. “People will tend to do and say more via the internet than they would do or say to someone in person.”
What Are Examples of Group Polarization?
Group polarization can be seen in a variety of real-world settings.
Online Communities
In online communities, people often engage with others who share similar interests and beliefs. The anonymity of the internet also contributes to people sharing more extreme opinions, which are then amplified by others in the group.
Because group members share similar ideas, they only share information and interact in ways that reinforce the group’s opinion.
“If there is strong segregation by attitudes, then there is no opportunity to hear alternative views. When like-minded people cut themselves off from dissent, they are likely to create an echo chamber that leads to extremity,” says Chris Crandall, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Kansas.
However, Crandall notes that this isn’t necessarily a problem if people still seek other perspectives.
Chris Crandall, PhD
If we still interact with different folks and hear differing points of view, then there won’t be much polarization.
— Chris Crandall, PhD
Social Algorithms
Search and social media algorithms can play a role in amplifying group polarization in online communities. Because algorithms show people content based on their previous engagements and preferences, they are more likely to see and engage with content that aligns with their current beliefs.
The lack of opposing viewpoints can then contribute to moving the groups overall opinion further into the margins.
However, while it has long been suggested that social media plays a role in causing polarization, research on the topic has been mixed. One study called this assumption into question, instead finding that polarization may play a role in increased social media use. However, the authors of the study note that the relationship between social media and polarization is complex and varied.
Extremist Groups or Cults
Extremist groups and cults can provide an avenue for group polarization to grow. Because people in these groups often isolate themselves from people with other perspectives, they are constantly surrounded by those who share the same beliefs.
This leads to the reinforcement of extreme ideas and identification with the group’s positions.
Political Ideologies and Extremism
Given the divisiveness of American politics, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that group polarization can also affect political affiliation and contribute to extremist positions within political parties.
Interactions with other people can play a part, but the impact of social media and political news can intensify these beliefs. This polarization leads to increased partisanship and more extreme policy positions.
As people become increasingly polarized, they are also more likely to only seek out information that confirms their beliefs. When people are only exposed to one perspective, they become increasingly entrenched in their positions.
Recognizing Group Polarization
Group polarization isn’t always easy to detect, so it often goes unnoticed—particularly by the people who might be most affected by it. Learning how to recognize it can be helpful, however, since it allows you to see how social influences might be influencing your decisions.
Understanding and spotting group polarization can also help you to have more constructive discussions with others in the group, which may help you make better choices.
So what are some signs you can look for to help you recognize group polarization?
- Changing consensus: While it can be difficult to recognize, a change in the collective opinion is a key sign of group polarization. In such cases, it can be helpful to track the general consensus of the group early in the process and then compare the end opinion to see how much attitudes have shifted.
- Strong attitudes: The intensification of existing opinions is another common sign of group polarization. Attitudes that were initially more tentative become harsher as a result of interaction with the group.
- Separation from other opinions: As groups become more polarized, they increasingly separate from others who hold differing points of view. In some cases, people will go so far as to other or dehumanize members of the outgroup who don’t share their beliefs or perspectives. As this divide increases, it becomes even more difficult for people not only to find common ground but also to empathize with one another.
- Increased confirmation bias: As people become increasingly polarized in their views, they also become more likely to engage in confirmation bias. This is a type of cognitive bias that involves only giving credence to information to reinforce the things that they already believe. This means that people neglect important details that might contradict their views, leading to poor, biased decision-making.
- Greater conflict: During discussions, group members may become more argumentative and less willing to entertain other ideas. The dominant opinion, particularly when expressed by persuasive group members, becomes the main position that other group members increasingly adhere to. As a result, people become more willing to defend the prevailing perspective, often by arguing with anyone who tried to introduce contradictory evidence.
While looking for these signs can help you better recognize the signs of group polarization, it is important to remember that all groups are different. Sometimes, you might spot many of these signs. In other cases, the shift in group opinion might be so gradual and subtle that detecting it is almost impossible.
The way that group polarization manifests depends on various factors, including the nature of the attitude, the characteristics of the group, and the forces contributing to the overall choice shift.
And the reality is that, in many cases, you probably won’t be able to detect it at all. Crandall explains that polarization seems very normal. Like-minded people who discuss their ideas emerge from such interactions feeling very confident in their positions.
“You come back next time, more confident, sharing more new arguments, seeing each other as ‘correct’ about issues, and the extremity grows pretty naturally. Will you notice it? Probably not,” Crandall explains.
Group Polarization vs. Groupthink
Group polarization is also sometimes confused with groupthink, a social phenomenon in which people strive to obtain group consensus. While the two both involve processes that influence the group, there are important distinctions.
Group Polarization
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Group decisions are more extreme than individual ones
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Often involves persuasive others and informational influences
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Attitudes shift to become more extreme
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Choices made by the group tend to be more extreme and riskier
Groupthink
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Decisions are made by consensus
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Often involves peer pressure and conformity
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People ignore their own beliefs and go along with the group
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Choices are made to maintain group harmony
How to Overcome Group Polarization
Group polarization has a number of significant implications. It can increase conflicts, risky decision-making, and more extreme beliefs. Despite that, it isn’t always a bad thing.
“Polarization is normal. It’s not the enemy, and it can have good effects, such as believing in your team, strengthening faith, building up identity, and energizing a group,” Crandall says. “But if you spend all your time listening only to FoxNews/The Blaze/OAN or Pacifica/Democracy Now!/The Palmer Report, you won’t know what the majority of Americans think.”
While it can be challenging to avoid, some strategies can help minimize the negative impacts of this phenomenon.
Encourage Critical Thinking
In group settings, encourage people to use critical thinking skills. Before jumping to conclusions or making hasty decisions, discuss what you can do as a group to ensure you have all the information you need to make an accurate decision.
Embrace Diverse Opinions
It is important to intentionally seek out differing perspectives and points of view. This can involve talking to people from other backgrounds and inviting diverse viewpoints to contribute to discussions. By listening to multiple points of view, groups are more likely to get a fuller, more nuanced view of the needs, beliefs, and experiences of group members.
Chris Crandall, PhD
Expose yourself to opposing viewpoints. Maintain your friendships with people who disagree with you. Watch both FoxNews and MSNBC, at least a little. Engage with others on social media (but do it respectfully, of course). It keeps you from sliding off the edge (and helps you recognize the roar of the waterfall when it approaches).
— Chris Crandall, PhD
Utilize Reflective Decision-Making
When making choices, it can be helpful to use a structured process that helps ensure you are pausing to reflect on your own motivations and the social influences that might be involved. This process involves looking at the facts, considering situational factors, and reflecting on what information you might not have.
Foster Empathy
It can be helpful to encourage active listening and empathy. Try to understand other people’s experiences and perspectives. Empathy allows members of the group to consider alternative viewpoints and work towards finding common ground rather than reinforcing extreme positions.
Fakorzi notes that polarization tends to intensify conflicts by reducing the acceptance of alternative ideas. She suggests making an effort to understand where other people are coming from to reduce friction and the effects of polarization.
“The approach to differences in any situation should be to understand the other person’s point of view,” she explains. “Listening with the goal of understanding is a mark of healthy and productive communication. Respecting others and allowing them to be without judgment is essential to the practice of tolerance.”
Maintain Connections With Other People
People may be susceptible to the effects of polarization during times when they are searching for a sense of belonging and community, such as when they first move away from home to go to college. Becoming connected to a community and gaining that sense of connection is an essential part of building a strong support system that is vital for positive mental well-being.
The key is not to lose touch with people different from yourself. Fakorzi also suggests that maintaining connections with people from other walks of life is essential.
