Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
  • News
    • Breaking news
    • Business
    • Community
    • Crime & Court
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Heritage
    • Housing
    • Local News
    • Politics
    • Security
  • Sport
    • Gaa
      • Camogie
      • Gaelic Football
      • Hurling
    • Rugby
      • Munster
      • Ireland
    • Soccer
    • Golf
    • Other
      • Athletics
      • Boxing
      • Golf
      • Basketball
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Film
      • Comedy
    • Property
    • Sponsored Content
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Account
    • SignOut
    • Account
Limerick Post
11 C
Limerick
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Facebook
Instagram
Linkedin
Twitter
Youtube
  • Classifieds
  • In Memoriam
  • Advertise
    • Limerickpost.ie
    • Advertise
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Edition
  • News App
Limerick Post
  • News
    • Breaking news
    • Business
    • Community
    • Crime & Court
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Heritage
    • Housing
    • Local News
    • Politics
    • Security
  • Sport
    • Gaa
      • Camogie
      • Gaelic Football
      • Hurling
    • Rugby
      • Munster
      • Ireland
    • Soccer
    • Golf
    • Other
      • Athletics
      • Boxing
      • Golf
      • Basketball
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Film
      • Comedy
    • Property
    • Sponsored Content
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Account
    • SignOut
    • Account
Home News Education UL research finds political polarisation can extend to non-political topics
  • News
  • Education
  • Limerick
  • Local News
  • Politics

UL research finds political polarisation can extend to non-political topics

By
Katie O'Donovan
-
August 1, 2023
Share
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
Linkedin
Email
    The main building at the University of Limerick.

    NEW UNIVERSITY of Limerick (UL) research has found that political polarisation can now extend to topics that are non-polarised or non-political.

    A team of researchers from the university, led by Mike Quayle in the Department of Psychology, has shown how initially small differences in people’s preference on a given topic can be quickly amplified, often leading to stark divergences in world views.

    The research was conducted using both laboratory experiments and agent-based (computer) modelling exploring social processes in simulated ‘mini-societies’.

    The study’s main author, Dr Dino Carpentras, said: “Diversity of political opinions is a sign of a healthy democracy. In contrast, a splitting of societies into competing camps that progressively dislike each other often prevents agreement and can cripple political processes.”

    Advertisement

    “A key challenge for researchers who are interested in the dynamics of public opinion is to understand the underlying principles of polarisation.”

    Dr Carpentras, a researcher in Computational Social Science, is a former Marie Curie Fellow at UL and is now based at ETH Zürich in Switzerland.

    “The COVID-19 pandemic provides a vivid example for such processes, where, in some countries, the compliance with safety rules (for example wearing a mask) became a matter of political partisanship rather than one of health-related concerns,” Dr Carpentras explained.

    “Obviously, finding reasonable common ground to coordinate solutions that are backed up by large parts of societies becomes difficult if not impossible when polarisation results in perpetual partisanship,” Dr Carpentras concluded.

    The group analysed more than 2,000 interactions in an online experiment to uncover the basic principles of polarisation.

    “A general pattern that we observed in our experiment was that people tend to be influenced by others regardless of whether they belonged to the same or to different political groups,” said Dr Adrian Lueders, one of the research team on the project.

    The so-called ‘social influence effect’, however, was significantly stronger if people learned about the opinion of someone who had a similar political leaning, according to the researchers.

    • TAGS
    • Computational Social Science
    • Department of Psychology
    • Dr Adrian Lueders
    • Dr Dino Carpentras
    • education
    • ETH Zurich
    • local
    • Mike Quayle
    • political
    • social influence affect
    • Switzerland
    • UL
    • University of Limerick
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    WhatsApp
    Linkedin
    Email
      Katie O'Donovan

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Future Farmer Trish scoops national agri prize

      Learning Irish is child’s play in Anglesboro

      Limerick primary schools continue to fulfill their potential

      Digital Edition

      Click on the image for the latest digital edition of the Limerick Post

      Our news app

      Stay informed with the latest breaking news from Limerick and surrounding areas, sourced directly from the trusted Limerick Post Newspaper.

      Latest

      • Thoughts of family being murdered made man slash innocent man’s throat at addiction centre
      • LIMERICK IN PHOTOS: Out and about
      • Man questioned over Aughinish bomb released
      • Comeback star Josh Ryan
      • ‘From Dickie to Richard’ celebrates Limerick’s much-loved son

      Classified Ads

      Avail of our incredible low cost Classified Rate

      Place Your Ad Here

      MORE STORIES

      Thoughts of family being murdered made man slash innocent man’s throat...

      LIMERICK IN PHOTOS: Out and about

      Man questioned over Aughinish bomb released

      Comeback star Josh Ryan