Political Communication Lab
The Political Communication Lab is a research group that includes faculty and graduate students from Stanford University's Communication and Political Science departments who work on large-scale content analysis of news and elite rhetoric, experimental studies of political polarization, and cross-national investigations — spanning more than fourteen countries — of public opposition to immigration.
— PCL News and Highlights —
The third edition of Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide is now available for purchase.
Media Politics encourages students to examine how the media affect American politics and how politicians influence the media in order get elected, stay in power, and achieve policy goals. Drawing on recent events and the most current research, including the work of Professor Iyengar, Media Politics is the most up-to-date introductory text available.
- View the 2016 Presidential Campaign ads for the Democratic Primary and Republican Primary.
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What Role Does Partisanship Play Outside of the Polls?, Science Friday
Shanto Iyengar discusses PCL study showing that the biggest social divide might not be race or religion, but rather political affiliation. -
The Strongest Prejudice Was Identified, Edge
Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt considers PCL research on political polarization to be the most interesting recent scientific news. - "Political identity is fair game for hatred": how Republicans and Democrats discriminate, Vox
Even as American voters remain relatively centrist, they seem to be getting angrier and more fearful of the other side. -
These political scientists are discovering even more reasons U.S. politics are a disaster, The Washington Post
Partisan distaste extends beyond presidential candidates in the other party to their supporters. -
Carly Fiorina's rise in polls fueled by buzz, not facts, San Jose Mercury News
The factual validity of debate statements make almost no difference to the trajectory of the polls. - New Developments in Political Communication Research, Waseda University
In this international workshop, Shanto Iyengar presented his research based on a comparative analysis of partisan polarization in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain. -
America’s new cycle of partisan hatred, The Washington Post
PCL study shows that Americans now discriminate more on the basis of party than on race, gender or any of the other divides we typically think of — and that discrimination extends beyond politics into personal relationships and non-political behaviors. -
How Did Politics Get So Personal?, The New York Times
New findings suggest that the sources of dispute in contemporary life go far beyond ideological differences or mere polarization. They have become elemental, almost tribal, tapping into in-group loyalty and out-group enmity. -
Why Partyism Is Wrong, The New York Times
David Brooks' opinion piece on PCL research showing that people are now less judgmental about different lifestyles, but they are more judgmental about policy labels. -
Political animosity exceeds racial hostility, new Stanford research shows, Stanford Report
PCL research shows that Democrats and Republicans are increasingly polar opposites – their political biases spill over into their social lives. -
'Partyism' Now Trumps Racism, Bloomberg View
Shanto Iyengar and PCL graduate student Sean Westwood conducted a large-scale implicit association test and found people’s political bias to be much larger than their racial bias.
Research Objectives
The lab was formed to develop and administer experimental studies of public opinion and political behavior through the use of both online and traditional methods. The advantages of online experimentation are clear in light of the explosion in the number of households with access to the Internet. Moreover, issues of sampling bias -- previously endemic to experiments -- can be overcome through the greater "reach" of online experiments and by the application of standard probability sampling techniques to the recruitment of online experimental participants. These developments significantly alleviate concerns over the generalizability of experimental research and as a result, experiments now represent a dominant methodology for political communication researchers.