Polarization of social attitudes in Hungary in the 2010s: a survey-experiment on the role of partisan identity

Since the mid-2010s, public discourse in Hungary has undergone significant changes, characterized by a shift in focus towards issues less relevant to voters’ daily lives and increased polarization of public attitudes along political lines. This paper explores the role of partisan identity in shaping attitude polarization. It posits that, beyond material interests or stable moral values, partisan identity independently influences social attitudes. Using a series of survey experiments conducted between 2016 and 2018, the effect of the salience of political conflict on attitudes about politically salient issues, such as immigration policy and the regulation of foreign-funded NGOs is investigated. Results indicate that partisan identity independently contributes to the polarization of attitudes, with respondents exposed to certain politicized issues aligning their views more closely with stereotypical partisan positions on other issues. The paper critiques existing experimental paradigms in political behaviour research and highlights the importance of incorporating social psychological approaches to understand the interplay between partisan identity and public opinion formation.