Reducing Attitude and Affective Polarization Related to Sensitive Issues: A Systematic Review

Due to its negative impact across different societies, polarization has been a focus of research in the social sciences. The ongoing research has acknowledged the trend of rising polarization and its impact. A considerable number of studies have focused on political polarization. On the other hand, researchers have focused relatively less systematically on polarization related to particular sensitive, conflicting issues. Furthermore, contemporary research has primarily focused on explaining polarization rather than developing practical mitigation strategies. The goal of this systematic review is to map and evaluate empirical evidence on approaches to reducing issue-based polarization. In the theoretical section, the terms “attitude polarization”, “affective polarization,” and “issue-based polarization”, as well as approaches to their reduction, are defined. After applying the exclusion criteria, 18 relevant papers were included in the final review. The systematic review indicates that evidence on the effectiveness of techniques reducing polarization is fragmentary, and none of the approaches appears to be significantly superior.