인지된 이념적 양극화와 정서적 양극화 [Perceived Ideological Polarization and Affective Polarization].

Our study analyzes the impact of 'perceived ideological polarization,' an aspect that has received little attention in previous literature on affective polarization in South Korea. We conducted both group-level and individual-level analyses to explore this phenomenon. Our group-level analysis shows that about 35% of the polarization perceived by partisan voters stems from misperception. Specifically, these voters tend to view the issue positions of supporters of both the opposing party and their own party as more extreme than they actually are. At the individual level, our analysis reveals an interesting finding. It is not the actual polarization (measured by the distance between the respondent's and the opposing party supporters' actual positions) that promotes affective polarization. Rather, it is the perceived polarization (measured by the distance between the respondent and the perceived position of opposing party voters) that drives this effect. These results suggest that a significant portion of affective polarization could be reduced simply by accurately perceiving the ideological positions of in-group and out-group party supporters.