ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the question, to what extent do Republicans and Democrats agree on what counts as unacceptable, uncivil behavior in U.S. politics? A series of studies indicates that there are not as many differences between political partisans as may be expected. Republicans and Democrats largely provide similar examples of incivility. When exposed to descriptions of incivility, Republicans and Democrats react in similar ways. Finally, when selecting news, both Republicans and Democrats are slightly attracted to civil rather than uncivil news. Instead of a difference between partisans, the studies detailed in this chapter consistently find that partisans of any kind react to incivility in a partisan way. Both Democrats and Republicans provide examples of the other party behaving badly, and both react most negatively toward incivility when someone from their out-group party is engaging in it. Instead of exposing widespread differences between Republicans and Democrats, the studies tell a different story: partisans react similarly to incivility, but they think that the other side is to blame.
