The next speaker in this high-density session at the 2026 International Communication Association conference in Cape Town is Sujin Yoon, whose focus is on group polarisation. Her particular interest is in opinion and structural convergence, and she begins by noting the limitations of studying such convergence in experimental settings; work with observational data is required here, therefore.
Group polarisation means a convergence of groups towards their dominant views; this also conditions Intra-group and inter-group interactions. Emotional factors such as anger and pride can affect this.
The present study examines this for the r/conservative and r/democrats subreddits, over six months in 2025; it used the separable temporal exponential random graph model (STERGM) approach, which examines tie formation and tie dissolution over time (here, on a monthly basis). Networks were constructed on the basis of shared morality (moral content proportions) and social identity, based on post-comment ties, for the 5,000 most active participants in the dataset.
The conservative network was relatively stable, driven by pride and social endorsements; the liberal network was more variable, with anger driving increased formation and dissolution of networks.
