Over the past ten years, an increasingly wide partisan divide in the United States has developed. Many scholars refer to the phenomenon as negative partisanship; the increased disdain that individuals hold towards members of the opposite party. The 2016 election of President Donald Trump seemed to solidify the growing disdain and separation between the two major political parties in the country. The rampant increase and prevalence of negative partisanship has contributed to an increased occurrence and presence of social polarization. This increased partisanship is obvious in areas outside of politics. How does this deep partisan divide impact relationships? Are the staunch differences between Democrats and Republicans impacting interactions outside of the political arena? In this thesis I investigate how partisan bias and social polarization permeate throughout the Smith community, and contextualize my findings within the larger context of negative partisanship in an increasingly divisive country.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Howard Gold, professor of government.