Enraged and Engaged? Emotions as Motives for Discussing Politics

• Author: Jennifer Wolak,Anand Edward Sokhey
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X211042288
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X211042288

American Politics Research

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X211042288

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Article

Thomas Stossel and Kerry Maguire make up one of the 30%

of American couples who are married to a partner who does

not share the same partisanship (Hersh & Ghitza, 2018). In

2012, they expressed their partisan differences with compet-

ing front yard political signs for Barack Obama and Mitt

Romney. In 2016, their partisan differences deepened, and

Maguire issued an ultimatum to her husband: “If you vote for

Trump, I will divorce you and move to Canada” (Pappu,

2016). When informed that her husband was still thinking

about voting Republican, Maguire responded that she hopes

that he never tells her that. “I would just be disgusted on

every level. And also a little fearful” (Pappu, 2016).

Emotions ran high during the 2016 presidential race. The

contest featured two candidates who drew the most negative

evaluations of any presidential contenders since such poll

questions have been asked (Collins, 2016; Saad, 2016). This

acrimony and negativity entered people’s social lives, for the

battles of campaigns take place not just on television news

and debate stages, but also in backyards, at dinner tables, and

in office breakrooms. We are interested in how these height-

ened emotions inform people’s approach to political conver-

sations with their family, co-workers, friends, and

acquaintances. We explore the relationship between feelings

of enthusiasm, anger, anxiety, and embarrassment and peo-

ple’s discussions about politics within their core social net-

works. We first consider whether the emotions people

experience in politics are associated with an eagerness to

start political conversations, or instead a tendency to avoid

politics. We then consider how emotional reactions to

politics connect with who people choose to talk to about

politics and current events. When people are feeling angry or

anxious about politics, do they talk to sympathetic friends or

instead confront and challenge their partisan foes?

Drawing on items included in the 2016 Cooperative

Congressional Election Study, we find that the emotions peo-

ple experienced during the presidential campaign were more

likely to be associated with more political conversations rather

than fewer. Feelings of enthusiasm are associated with an

enjoyment of political discussion and a desire to share political

views on social media. We also find that anger is strongly

related to political talk. When people are feeling angry about

politics, they are more likely to say that they enjoy discussing

politics and they are more likely to engage in political expres-

sion both in-person and on social media. While those who feel

anxious are less likely to say that they enjoy conversations

about politics, feelings of anxiety do not seem associated with

lower participation in political discussion.

While the 2016 presidential race was seen as exception-

ally negative in tone by most observers, we find that this

negativity contributes to different patterns of political talk

depending on the kinds of negative emotions experienced.

1042288

APRXXX10.1177/1532673X211042288American Politics ResearchWolak and Sokhey

research-article

2021

1Michigan State University, USA

2University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jennifer Wolak, Michigan State University, 303 South Kedzie Hall, 368

Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

Email: wolakjen@msu.edu

Enraged and Engaged? Emotions as

Motives for Discussing Politics

Jennifer Wolak1 and Anand Edward Sokhey2

Abstract

The 2016 presidential campaign made some feel angry, while others felt anxious, embarrassed, or enthusiastic. We explore

how these emotions relate to patterns of political talk within informal conversation networks. Using items from the 2016

Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we link emotional reactions to rates of conversation, interest in political talk,

and exposure to disagreeable viewpoints. Rather than deterring people from contentious conversations, we find that the

heightened emotions are associated with greater engagement in political talk. Those who feel angry do not confront their

opponents. Instead, they avoid conversations with those who do not share their views, where anger is tied to partisan

patterns of political discussion. Feelings of embarrassment have the opposite relationship, as those who felt embarrassed

during the campaign were more likely to discuss politics with those with contrary views. These results inform when and how

people engage in political talk.

Keywords

emotions, political discussion, political talk, anger, embarrassment

2022, Vol. 50(2) 186 –198