Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book brings together leading researchers in moral and political psychology, offering new perspectives on the deep ideological polarization that has defined the recent political landscape. It focuses on particular psychological mechanisms underlying ideological differences. Adam Waytz and colleagues reconceptualize the popular notion of liberals as more empathetic than conservatives as a difference not in the degree to which individuals experience the emotional state, but in the targets of their concern. The book considers the consequences of political partisanship in social psychology itself, demonstrating the political homogeneity of the field, the causes of such homogeneity, and the potential consequences such an environment has on the validity of our science. It discusses the scope of the problem, showing both the stability of ideological divisions across time and cultures as well as new ways in which our political populace is dividing.