Chiara Vargiu
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cvargiu.bsky.social
Chiara Vargiu
@cvargiu.bsky.social
Researcher in Political Communication with the @rpa-cs-uva.bsky.social at @ascor.bsky.social | PhD in Political Science @sspunil.bsky.social | Elite Incivility, Marginalization, Violence

website: chiaravargiu.com
We are finally out!! Thanks to my fantastic co-authors, the anonymous reviewers, and @thejop.bsky.social editorial team. Publishing my first registered report has been an incredibly instructive and rewarding experience 🤓

Much has been said about political incivility, but does it actually exist? 🤷‍♀️
🚨 New piece out at @thejop.bsky.social w awesome @cvargiu.bsky.social & D Garzia

If incivility means breaking norms, & norms are person- and context-dependent, *does incivility even exist*?

In the stage-2 registered report we investigate what drives perceptions of incivility

tinyurl.com/4h5u4y8y
October 29, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
September 5, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
🚨Pre-print alert🚨

Research shows citizens in many Western democracies are increasingly affectively polarized––they feel warm toward their own party but quite cold toward opposing parties.

But how does it feel to “feel warmly”?
@katharinalawall.bsky.social, @mtsakiris.bsky.social & I asked.
🧵1/8
August 4, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
⚡️⚡️⚡️
Interested in…
…negativity, incivility, intolerance?
…comparative and experimental data on the perception and effects of attack politics?
… personality, contextual influences?
Get all this with a discount!
📚📚📚🤩🤩🤩
Our new book THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ATTACK POLITICS is out next month! 🔥📚

We offer a new look at negativity effects, via perceptions & evaluations🤔😱👿🤣

You can pre-order it with a nice 20% discount on the cover price (for paperbacks this makes it £32 or so)

Check out discount code & link in the flyer 👇
June 16, 2025 at 2:55 PM
📕 *The Psychology of Attack Politics* is coming out next month.

With @alessandronai.bsky.social and @lukotto.bsky.social we discuss how negativity isn't always what you think 🤔 and why some of us may even enjoy it 😈

Pre-order now with 20% off (paperback ~£32).
Discount code + link in the flyer 👇
Our new book THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ATTACK POLITICS is out next month! 🔥📚

We offer a new look at negativity effects, via perceptions & evaluations🤔😱👿🤣

You can pre-order it with a nice 20% discount on the cover price (for paperbacks this makes it £32 or so)

Check out discount code & link in the flyer 👇
June 16, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
Looking forward to present tomorrow our paper with @cvargiu.bsky.social about shifts in support for #PoliticalViolence driven by the #Mangione attack

Come say hi if you are in Ghent or thereabouts!

➡️ preprint: osf.io/preprints/os...
➡️Save the date!⬅️

Interested in political violence, party dynamics and democratic norms? 👀 On 11 June, research group Gaspar has the pleasure to welcome prof. dr. @alessandronai.bsky.social for our Gaspar lecture series!

All are welcome! Registration link 👇
June 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
New piece at @cogitatiopag.bsky.social w L Aaldering @kgattermann.bsky.social @fredericofs.bsky.social D Garzia

The capper of our “dark leaders” trilogy, we show that negative traits matter the most

Come for the cool theory, stay for the #GameofThrones experiment treatments

➡️ tinyurl.com/mvn7np2e
April 11, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
Pundits are - in vain - looking to economics and politics when trying to explain Trump's behavior.

But, in reality, the central place to look if we want to understand Trump and his policies is this:

The psychology of dominance.

🧵(1/5)
April 9, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
🚨 New piece at @polbehavior.bsky.social w @chiaravalli.bsky.social @timgravelle.bsky.social @mikemikemed.bsky.social Céline Murri & Beatrice Eugster

TLDR: In 🇨🇭 visible mosques increases support for the #FarRight in elections and in referenda (~ +3-5%)

Paper: tinyurl.com/5xk6ydv9
Data: osf.io/27pkj
April 4, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Prompted by news of prosecutors seeking death penalty for Luigi #Mangione, we share findings from a natural experiment based on his case.

We find that Mangione's arrest led to a small rise in support for #PoliticalViolence among Dems.

📝 Preprint: osf.io/preprints/os...
📊 Data & code: osf.io/y5mn3/
New preprint out with @cvargiu.bsky.social

We use the Luigi #Mangione case (assassination + arrest) as natural experiment and show that it led to a (slight) uptick in support for #PoliticalViolence among Dems

Feedback very welcome!

➡️ Preprint: osf.io/preprints/os...
➡️ Data and code: osf.io/y5mn3
April 3, 2025 at 1:35 PM
So cool to see this taking shape 🥹 Thanks to @alessandronai.bsky.social & @lukotto.bsky.social for bringing me on board, it’s been great working on this together!
📚📚📚

New book out this July with @lukotto.bsky.social & @cvargiu.bsky.social

We present a novel approach to study #NegativeCampaigning & #Incivility 🥊 ⚔️ - focusing on public perceptions and evaluations 😱😆🤢😡

Bonus: low price (~£35) & the cover is 🤘

Pre-orders from July 5: tinyurl.com/7raa9fpf
March 29, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
🚨 New paper out in @electoralstudies.bsky.social w Patrick van Erkel & @lindabos.bsky.social

What drives changes in radical partisanship over time?

TLDR: #NeedforChaos and #ExpressivePartisanship drive radicalisation & slow down de-radicalisation

Paper tinyurl.com/mr46r35u
Data 🇳🇱 osf.io/ma6u7
March 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
Why can’t Americans agree on the concept of equality? And how did Trump’s election victory influence this? Chiara Vargiu examines the starkly different ways Republicans and Democrats view social equality and how these differences put American democracy at risk.
Why Americans can't agree on social equality - The Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies
The gap between Democrats and Republicans on social equality deepens. Diversity vs. tradition fuels polarisation, while extreme views and us-vs-them thinking threaten American democracy.
conflictstudies.uva.nl
December 17, 2024 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Chiara Vargiu
First an intro by PIs Abbey Steele and Alessandro Nai.
Followed by:
- Conversation with Enilda Jiménez on resisting political violence in Colombia.
- Panel on aggressive rhetoric and its consequences.
- Keynote by Leonie Huddy (Stony Brook) on news sharing as expressive partisanship.
December 11, 2024 at 11:55 AM