Language Is Fueling , the US Political Divide, Studies Reveal.br PsyPost reports that a recent series of studies br suggests that the way political opinions are br expressed can amplify perceived political differences.br PsyPost reports that a recent series of studies br suggests that the way political opinions are br expressed can amplify perceived political differences.br According to findings published in the 'Proceedings of thebr National Academy of Sciences' (PNAS), generalized br statements contribute to increased public polarization.br Study author Gustavo Novoa, a PhD candidate in political br science at Columbia University, and his colleagues conducted br a series of three studies on the impact of generic language.br The first of the studies looked to investigate how br endorsements of generic political statements could br influence how people perceive political polarization.br The second study looked at people's ability to recall br political information, particularly the tendency to br remember quantified statements as generics.br The third study explored how polarized judgments br emerge from exposure to generic statements about br political parties versus quantified statements.br PsyPost reports that the findings br reveal the powerful role of br language on political discourse. .br According to Novoa, the findings are evidence , "that the use of generic language, common in everyday br speech, has the potential to be interpreted to mean br extreme prevalences where they might not exist.".br According to Novoa, the findings are evidence , "that the use of generic language, common in everyday br speech, has the potential to be interpreted to mean br extreme prevalences where they might not exist.".br Novoa explains that "you might find examples in the media br that argue that Democratic voters are in favor of raising br taxes. This is true only in the sense that Democratic voters br favor raising taxes at a greater rate than Republican voters.br In reality, neither Republican br nor Democrat voters support br higher taxes.