Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenRahel Freiburghaus @rfrbrghs.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The Swiss People’s Party SVP is one of the oldest and electorally strongest radical-right parties in the world. But: electoral popularity ≠ policy popularity Voters keep supporting the SVP in elections, but only 2 out of 12 popular initiatives launched by the SVP have passed Data: Swissvotes 68029
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPedro Magalhães @pcmagalhaes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The Atlas of Social Attitudes is now live: www.atlasofsocialattitudes.eu What is it, what can you do with it, and why did we build it? A short🧵. (1)atlasofsocialattitudes.euAtlas of Social AttitudesExplore comprehensive public opinion data from the European Social Survey and the European Values Survey. Discover insights across topics, countries, an... 33325
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenSciLove @scilove.bsky.social · 11/09/2026🔥 Trending on SciLove today 🔥 🔬 The (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies 👤 Harteveld et al., 2026 📖 European Journal of Political Research @ejprjournal.bsky.social 🔗 www.scilove.app/article/10.1017/s14… #PoliSciscilove.app🔥 Trending today: The (alleged) consequences of affective polarization (Harteveld et al., 2026) - 11/09/26Reducing hostility between rival supporters improves social relations and democratic support, but effects vary significantly across countries. 🗳️🤝🌍 013
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenBastian Becker @beckerbastian.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Does depolarization work? 💥🕊️ A multi-country experiment finds social & democratic benefits, though conditions apply! ➡️ @eelcoharteveld.bsky.social @leberntzen.bsky.social @andrejkokkonen.bsky.social @hayleekelsall.bsky.social @jonaslinde.bsky.social & Dahlberg in @ejprjournal.bsky.social 063
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenStuart Turnbull-Dugarte @turnbulldugarte.com · 17/08/2026Three pre-registered experiments. One story. But now with page numbers. Non-heterosexual behaviour/identities among men is punished significantly more than the same among women. 1248
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenJulia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 31/07/2026This is an *excellent* video on iodine. I had learned about some of these stories from @ruben.the100.ci, but I wasn't quite aware of how much of a public health miracle iodized salt is. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRcw...youtube.comThe easiest way to make the world smarterYouTube video by Rabbit Hole 3264
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenAmerican Statistical Association History of Statistics @hos-asa.bsky.social · 04/07/2026#OTD 1857 John Snow shows again the thinking that made him one of the founders of epidemiology. In a letter to the Lancet, he suggests that the routine adulteration of bread with alum might be a cause of rickets, a mechanistic hypothesis to explain it, then a case-control design to test it. 1/5🧵 142
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenJay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 26/06/2026A new study provides causal evidence from 9 countries where they experimentally manipulated intergroup polarization: When polarization decreases people discriminate less, while support for democratic principles increases & willingness to engage in compromise grows phys.org/news/2026-06... 0124
Lars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Har bidratt med kapittelet "Høyreekstrem ideologi – sentrale strømninger i dagens Norge" sammen med @jacravn.bsky.social i boken "Høyreekstremisme i Norge etter 22. juli", redigert av @arjupskas.bsky.social @crexuio.bsky.socialscup.com1. Høyreekstrem ideologi – sentrale strømninger i dagens Norge 121
Lars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 26/06/2026@newsweek.com report on our comparative study of the impact of affective polarizationnewsweek.comScientists found a way to ease political hostility—then came the US resultThe researcher told Newsweek that "partisan animosity in the U.S. may simply be too far gone." 252
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenLars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 15/06/2026Out in POQ -- Mind the Gap: Partisan Bias in Justifying Political Violence in the United States academic.oup.com/poq/article/...academic.oup.comMind the Gap: Partisan Bias in Justifying Political Violence in the United StatesAbstract. Political polarization in America has intensified beyond mere disagreement to what scholars characterize as sectarianism—a condition where partis 1148
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenKristoffer Magnusson @rpsychologist.com · 25/06/2026New interactive blog! "Why Adjusted Regression Coefficients Are Less Descriptive Than They Look" rpsychologist.com/descriptive-... 1520769
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPer Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 25/06/2026The most unrealistic assumption in social science is that respondents read survey questions the way researchers do 2588
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenBrendan Cantwell @cantb.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Faculty are forever making fun of students for asking questions that are answered on the syllabus but if you’ve ever been to a faculty meeting you know that faculty constantly ask questions that are answered by the program handbook or departmental bylaws. Constantly (me included). 2475
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPerspectives on Politics @poppublicsphere.bsky.social · 24/06/2026NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!! Citizen–Elite #Toxicity & #Political #Equality Online By @janabelschner.bsky.social & Linn Sandberg doi.org/10.1017/S153... 0113
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenJacob Aasland Ravndal @jacravn.bsky.social · 23/06/2026I år er det 15 år siden 22. juli-terrorangrepet. I den anledning har vi skrevet bok om høyreekstremisme i Norge etter 22. juli. Boka oppsummerer 10 år med forkning ved @crexuio.bsky.social og er åpent tilgjengelig for alle her: www.scup.com/doi/book/10....scup.comScandinavian University Press 03819
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenBrendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 22/06/2026Yet again www.nber.org/papers/w3535... 38128
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenDaniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 17/06/2026How many Iranians support the Islamic Republic? In a new working paper, we answer this using a nationally representative survey of 2,000 adults in Iran—and the list experiment, a method for measuring sensitive attitudes. 2269
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenAlejandro Fernández-Roldán @aleferna.bsky.social · 16/06/2026If you work on public opinion and/or political behaviour you might want to consider submitting your abstract(s) to JCPOP 2026 in Barcelona - All the info 👇 063
Lars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 15/06/2026Out in POQ -- Mind the Gap: Partisan Bias in Justifying Political Violence in the United States academic.oup.com/poq/article/...academic.oup.comMind the Gap: Partisan Bias in Justifying Political Violence in the United StatesAbstract. Political polarization in America has intensified beyond mere disagreement to what scholars characterize as sectarianism—a condition where partis 1148
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenRahel Freiburghaus @rfrbrghs.bsky.social · 25/04/2026In June, Switzerland will vote on what is so far the most radical far-right popular initiative launched by the Swiss People‘s Party SVP: capping the population at 10M (currently ≈9.1M). In this thread, I’ll break down what it’s about and how it fits into broader findings on Swiss direct democracy 617080
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenEuropean Journal of Political Research @ejprjournal.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Taking a stand ✋️🧍 These authors 🧵 use survey data across 9 countries to assess the downstreams consequences of #AffectivePolarization & intervene to successfully reduce participants #AffectivePolarization in 6 of the 9, improving interpersonal relations and social norms buff.ly/tHRWa65cambridge.orgThe (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge CoreThe (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies 12016
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenLars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 24/05/2026Does affective polarization itself actually threaten democracy? Recent experiments from the US suggest maybe not. In our new @ejprjournal.bsky.social paper, we revisit this question comparatively with a survey experiment in 9 democracies (18,000 respondents). #poliskycambridge.orgThe (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge CoreThe (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies 23318
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenYiqing Xu @yiqingxu.bsky.social · 05/06/20261/ Happy to share that "Factorial Difference-in-Differences" (FDID), with Anqi Zhao and @pengding00 , is out in JASA - ACS. doi.org/10.1080/0162... It has been a truly thrilling experience working with Anqi and Peng.doi.orgFactorial Difference-in-DifferencesWe formulate factorial difference-in-differences (FDID), a research design that extends canonical difference-in-differences (DID) to settings in which an event affects all units. In many panel data... 1289
Lars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Frustrating that AI has sullied the em-dash. It's just so versatile! I haven't been able to come up with a good replacement, so am going to reclaim it despite the risks its use now carries. 060
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenCambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 29/05/2026#OpenAccess from @ejprjournal.bsky.social - The (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies - cup.org/43vEJV0 - @eelcoharteveld.bsky.social, @leberntzen.bsky.social, @andrejkokkonen.bsky.social, @hayleekelsall.bsky.social, et al #FirstView 11511
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenDepartment of Comparative Politics UiB @sampol.bsky.social · 26/05/2026🌟 New article 👥 Eelco Harteveld, Lars Erik Berntzen, Andrej Kokkonen, Haylee Kelsall, Jonas Linde & Stefan Dahlberg 👉 The (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies 📗 European Journal of Political Research 🔗 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 01810
Lars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 25/05/2026LLM-sycophancy is a major concern across a whole range of domains. But as ⬇️ points out, worth thinking about what a meaningful control group is here 020
Lars Erik Berntzen @leberntzen.bsky.social · 24/05/2026Does affective polarization itself actually threaten democracy? Recent experiments from the US suggest maybe not. In our new @ejprjournal.bsky.social paper, we revisit this question comparatively with a survey experiment in 9 democracies (18,000 respondents). #poliskycambridge.orgThe (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge CoreThe (alleged) consequences of affective polarization: A survey experiment in nine democracies 23318
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenCas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 23/05/2026As I have been arguing for almost a decade, populism is a secondary feature for most populist actors. Moreover, the main current threat to liberal democracy comes from the far right, which at least in Europe and U.S., is primarily nativist. In fact, some are barely populist anymore. 1435
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPer Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 08/05/2026What can we learn from automating an entire quantitative social science paper, from prompt to finished product? Thread about ongoing work with @natewilmers.bsky.social 1/12 Paper: osf.io/preprints/so... 25276106
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenEric Turkheimer @ent3c.bsky.social · 08/05/2026In the interest of not thinking about the Virginia Supreme Court decision, I wrote a blog post. The Schizophrenogenic Mother: Behavior Genetics' Origin Story Misses the Point open.substack.com/pub/ericturk...open.substack.comThe Schizophrenogenic MotherBehavior Genetics' Origin Story Misses the Point 1132
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenDavid Karpa @dkarpa.bsky.social · 07/05/2026Are you interested in conjoint experiments? Wrote about my new R package *cjdiag* on my website. Feedback welcome! dkarpa.github.io/blog/2026/be... 0145
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenIgor Grossmann, PhD @igi.bsky.social · 05/05/20261/ We've been measuring intellectual humility wrong. Most scales ask "are you intellectually humble?" but the people least humble are the most miscalibrated about it. They overclaim. The #humilityparadox. Out today in Behavior Research Methods. Here's what we did instead. 🧵 32911
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPetter Törnberg @pettertornberg.com · 01/05/2026LLMs have been widely reported as left-wing biased. The finding has shaped policy and debate — with Trump banning "Woke AI". Our new paper challenges this story. It's not that the models are biased. It's that they think the auditor is. 🧵 w/ michelleschimmel.bsky.socialarxiv.org/pdf/2604.27633 415750
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPublic Opinion Quarterly - POQ @poqjournal.bsky.social · 24/04/2026Does partisanship affect justifications of political violence? Berntzen et al. find that both Democrats and Republicans are more likely to justify identical acts of political violence when the victims are from the opposing party. Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/... 1177
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPetter Törnberg @pettertornberg.com · 23/04/2026Social media is no longer social. Most of it is passive viewing of videos and pictures from people we've never met. But we're still studying social media like it's 2010. We've entered the post-social media era — and research needs to catch up. osf.io/preprints/so... preprint w/ Richard Rogers 392983945
Reposted by Lars Erik Berntzenkoenfucius @koenfucius.bsky.social · 17/04/2026Contrary to common wisdom, open-mindedness predicts *support* for public health measures and *disbelief* in conspiracy theories, research by Pärnamets et al, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 68 countries, suggests: buff.ly/XqbAbM0 HT @jayvanbavel.bsky.social 0123
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenBrendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 07/04/2026It's @professormusgrave.bsky.social o'clock again, alas 1468107
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPeter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 06/04/2026From Roger Scruton cafes to paying Matt Goodwin $10k a month, Viktor Orban has built a network of populist right think tanks, journalists and activists Today Democracy for Sale delves into Orban’s allies on the British right Well worth a read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-britsdemocracyforsale.substack.comWhat happens to Britain's radical right if Orbán loses?Inside the money, power and patronage connecting Hungary and the British right 44819533
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenPol Niuman @pol-niuman.bsky.social · 24/03/2026Egon Schiele (1907) 715555606
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenJonas R. Kunst @kunstjonas.bsky.social · 24/03/2026What really drives someone to support violent extremism? I am thrilled to share our new article published today in PNAS. Together with an incredible team of collaborators, we conducted a preregistered study across 58 countries with over 18,000 participants. This is what we found. 13016
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 10/03/2026GB News is platforming an extremist narrative that is central to the socialisation of violence, including to the terrorist rampages in Europe and New Zealand & the USA www.reuters.com/world/europe... www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/3/... 28734
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenRoderik Rekker @roderikrekker.bsky.social · 03/03/2026🚨 Job alert! 🚨 We are looking for a PhD candidate for my Vidi project on factual belief polarization and its attitudinal consequences. The position will be at the Department of Political Science of Radboud University (Netherlands). Check out the full job profile below! www.ru.nl/en/working-a...ru.nlPhD Position: Factual Belief Polarisation and its Attitudinal Consequences | Radboud UniversityDo you want to work as a PhD at the Nijmegen School of Management? Check our vacancy! 01523
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenJames Dennison @jamesrdennison.bsky.social · 10/03/2026Why do some people want to migrate while others don’t—even in similar conditions?🌍 My new #openaccess article in IMR shows how psychology🧠—notably values, risk tolerance, and personality—predict both aspiration and irregularity willingness.🔎🔓 journals.sagepub.com/eprint/XEJZT... 23212
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenLaurits Aarslew @aarslew.bsky.social · 10/03/2026Much research concludes that partisans tolerate anti-democratic behavior, such as electoral subversion, because they rarely punish it at the ballot box. But refusing to vote against your party and actively supporting democratic subversion are not the same thing. My new paper in @bjpols.bsky.social: 1237
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenMark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 09/03/2026Citizens tend to lose faith in meritocracy as inequality rises within their country over time. #SocialPsyc 0196
Reposted by Lars Erik BerntzenStaffan Kumlin @staffankumlin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026Are we underestimating popular discontent with welfare state change, and the damage done to political-institutional trust? New measures of "welfare state emotions" suggest as much. With Tor Syrstad and Atle Haugsgjerd. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... 2189