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We are a cross-university research lab (Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University). The lab exists to serve as a nexus for work on affective polarization, social trust, and political violence.

Our lab focuses on addressing the following critical questions:

  • What are the principal causes of affective polarization and what can be done to treat it?
  • When and where does affective polarization alter behavior? Why?
  • How effective and durable are approaches to reducing affective polarization?

Explore what we do

America’s Political Pulse

Plot and analyze trends in American political animosity measured with out data. Free and open datasets are also available.

Apply for survey time

Similar in spirit to TESS, we are looking for innovative work on polarization, democratic/social norms, and political violence (all broadly defined).  Proposals will be evaluated solely on scientific merit and will be awarded based on available survey space.  Selected proposals will be fielded on YouGov as part of our weekly tracking survey.

Annual meeting

At our meetings we bring together established scholars, graduate students, community groups and funders for a conference designed to highlight emerging academic work and to develop a network of academics and practitioners focused on the problem of partisan animosity.