Abstract

Social polarization has emerged as a global concern due to the hyper-connected media environment that has fundamentally changed how information is created and consumed. Social polarization undermines social cooperation and promotes prejudice and discrimination which calls for urgent attention. Despite the urgency of this issue, its developmental mechanisms remain poorly understood. This review aims to provide an integrative account of social polarization through a multi-level and multidisciplinary framework examining interactions between individual, social group, and information environmental factors. First, we discuss key characteristics of the modern media environment that facilitate polarization, including rapid information circulation, social media expansion, mis- and disinformation, personalized algorithms, and shifts in media consumption behavior. Second, we examine echo chambers and group polarization as group and environment level processes that foster homogeneous groups and reinforce polarized beliefs. Third, we review cognitive biases associated with social identity and categorical thinking as psychological mechanisms contributing to polarization, and propose that interactions among these biases may further intensify polarization. Fourth, we discuss how information overload may increase reliance on heuristics grounded in resource rationality, alter media consumption patterns, and exacerbate polarization. Individual factors that may increase susceptibility to polarization are also discussed. Finally, we discuss promising computational modeling approaches across social science domains and consider potential interventions and future directions for reducing social polarization.