Partisan social cognition and biased experiences in a polarized world: The neural processing of identity‐based group membership

Abstract

Pairing neuroimaging and behavioral testing, we offer new insights into affective polarization, hyper‐partisanship, and their effects. Our findings introduce a temporal dimension to existing theoretical frameworks concerning the impact of social identity on political perceptions. We demonstrate that group‐identity shapes in‐the‐moment neural processing of real‐world experiences in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol and Cyberball game where participants experience varying levels of inclusion/exclusion from in/out‐group members. In other words, people don't simply rely upon group membership (e.g., partisanship, national identity) to post‐hoc rationalize an experience, but instead that group membership also actively biases neural processing of otherwise objectively identical experiences, shaping (and distorting) political perception, with significant behavioral effects.