Intraindividual Changes in Political Identity Strength (but not Direction) are Associated with Political Animosity in the United States and the Netherlands

We test if within-person changes in political identities are associated with within-person changes in political animosity in two longitudinal studies (USA N = 552, Waves = 26; Netherlands N = 1670, Waves = 12). Typical studies examine cross-sectional associations without assessing within-person change. Our work provides a stronger test of the relationship. We find that within-person changes in the strength of people’s ideological and partisan identities are associated with increased political animosity. We found no such associations with within-person changes in identity direction. These patte... Mehr ...