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Related Concept Videos

Group Polarization01:01

Group Polarization

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Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.
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Potential Due to a Polarized Object01:29

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A neutral atom consists of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by a negatively charged electron cloud. When placed in an external electric field, the external electric force pulls the electrons and nucleus apart, opposite to the intrinsic attraction between the nucleus and the electrons. The opposing forces balance each other with a slight shift between the center of masses of the nucleus and the electron cloud, resulting in a polarized atom. On the other hand, a few molecules, like water,...
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A permanent electric dipole orients itself along an external electric field. This rotation can be quantified by defining the potential energy because the external torque does work in rotating it. Then, the potential energy is minimum at the parallel configuration and maximum at the antiparallel configuration. While the former is a stable equilibrium, the latter is an unstable equilibrium.
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Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor01:31

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The presence of a dielectric medium in a capacitor not only changes the voltage and capacitance but also affects the electric field. In general, dielectrics can be of two types: polar and nonpolar. In a polar dielectric, the positive and negative charges in the molecules are separated by a distance and hence have a permanent dipole moment. In contrast, no such charge separation exists in a nonpolar dielectric, however the nonpolar molecules get polarized in the presence of an external electric...
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The transfer function is a fundamental concept representing the ratio of two polynomials. The numerator and denominator encapsulate the system's dynamics. The zeros and poles of this transfer function are critical in determining the system's behavior and stability.
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Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular and membrane components, making one side of the cell different from the other. This polarity is essential to many processes such as embryogenesis, axon migration, glucose transport across epithelial cells, and directional cell migration. A migrating cell responds to intracellular or extracellular signals via molecular cascades that reorganize the actin cytoskeleton to establish this polarity. In these cells, the Rho family proteins Cdc42,...
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Merging Ion Concentration Polarization between Juxtaposed Ion Exchange Membranes to Block the Propagation of the Polarization Zone
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Polarization and tipping points.

Michael W Macy1,2, Manqing Ma3,4, Daniel R Tabin5,4

  • 1Department of Information Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853; szymab@rpi.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 8, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Political polarization dynamics can reach irreversible tipping points due to self-reinforcing influence and homophily. Understanding these critical transitions is key to addressing increasing partisan division in organizations.

Keywords:
hysteresis dynamicsphase transitionpolarizationtipping points

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Area of Science:

  • Political Science
  • Computational Social Science
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Increasing partisan division and extremist positions are observed, particularly among political elites.
  • Research is shifting towards understanding how to attenuate political polarization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if self-reinforcing dynamics of influence and homophily in opinion change lead to problematic tipping points.
  • To model polarization dynamics in a legislative body or similar small, densely connected organization.

Main Methods:

  • A general model of opinion change was developed, applicable to organizations without country-specific institutional constraints.
  • Agents updated issue positions based on proximity to neighbors, disagreement, tolerance, and party identification strength.
  • Computational experiments manipulated agent parameters and introduced exogenous shocks (e.g., common threats).

Main Results:

  • Phase diagrams revealed difficult-to-predict transitions in political polarization.
  • Asymmetric hysteresis trajectories indicated that polarization shifts can be irreversible.
  • The model demonstrated how influence and homophily dynamics can create tipping points.

Conclusions:

  • Polarization dynamics may exhibit tipping points that are hard to reverse.
  • Future empirical research should focus on identifying these tipping points and evaluating countermeasures.
  • Understanding phase transitions in political polarization is crucial for policy interventions.