History

• Although group polarization has been a fact of political life for millennia, writers such as Vasquez and Wallace began studying the issue and how it related to the arms race. In her Beyond Intractability essay, "Polarization," Michelle Maiese speaks of these influences in some detail. The security dilemma breeds group polarization, because fear, misperceptions, and stereotypes about other countries and their military might encourage other nations to polarize against that nation and increase their open weaponry.
  
  According to a Princeton University research paper by Delia Baldassarri and Peter Bearman, group polarization is prevalent in modern America. Some examples of this are republican versus democrat, abortion versus pro-life, and pro-gay marriage versus anti-gay marriage. There are vocal leaders on each extreme who escalate issues and cause further polarization.
  
  

Significance

• Group polarization can lead to militancy and war, although the result is not always violent. Group polarization begins with an escalating conflict. Ideological sides emerge and polarize. These sides grow and become more extreme, cutting off most peaceful communication with each other and blaming each other side for their problems. Further escalation increases polarization. For example, a gay marriage amendment that failed a statewide vote may polarize the gay rights movement, making pro-gay marriage leaders more vocal and adamant about their position.
  
  

Function

• As contrary as it sounds, the function of group polarization is unity. Group polarization unites a group of people around a common cause or belief system. For example, Nazis banded together around the concept of Aryan supremacy. This act caused them to feel group solidarity among themselves, and also to see outsiders as contrary to their beliefs. The more polarized they became, the more unified they felt. At the same time, they became farther removed from the rest of society.
  
  

Types

• According to the University of Chicago Law School, group polarization can cause people to go to extremes. People may end up with more extreme beliefs than they would have expressed on their own, or do things they may not have otherwise done. Group polarization can be planned or spontaneous. Planned group polarization occurs when a leader chooses to create a community of like-minded individuals united by a common belief. Hitler did this, rallying millions behind his belief that Jews had to be exterminated. Spontaneous group polarization occurs when a group of people rally around a cause without any prior planning.
  
  

Considerations

• In a study by Moscovici, which can be found in the Cornell University-Group Polarization Power Point Presentation, French students were more anti-American after a discussion of Americans than before. Moscovici spoke with French students who thought poorly of Americans in general and highly of Charles de Gaulle. After the discussion, they were even more positive about de Gaulle and thought even less of Americans. This shows that escalation causes group polarization.