This paper investigates whether Voting Advice Applications (VAAs), by exposing voters to a diverse set of politically relevant alternatives, can reduce affective polarization. While VAAs are primarily designed to inform electoral choices and increase political knowledge, we argue that their personalized presentation of ideologically diverse parties may also mitigate negative attitudes toward political outgroups. Drawing on a randomized field experiment conducted in 2024 in Japan, a context characterized by a long-term reign of a governing party and a dominant-party system, we find that exposure to a VAA significantly reduces affective polarization. Notably, the effect is strongest among voters who typically rely on valence-based evaluations rather than issue-based reasoning, i.e. supporters of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). These findings suggest that VAAs, beyond their intended informational and educational functions, can serve as effective tools for mitigating partisan hostility by broadening voters\u2019 perceived political choice set. However, the effect appears to be short-lived, fading after the election period.<\/p>\n
GALLINA, Marta<\/a>\u00a0 (Associate Professor, Catholic University of Lille)<\/p>\n CAMATARRI, Stefano<\/a> (Research Fellow, Catholic University of Louvain & Catholic University of Lille)<\/p>\n Airo Hino<\/a> (Waseda\u00a0University), Marta Gallina<\/a> (Catholic University of Lille), Stefano Camatarri<\/a> (Catholic University of Louvain), Robert Andrew Fahey (Waseda\u00a0University), Uwe Serd\u00fclt<\/a> (Ritsumeikan\u00a0University and University of Zurich)<\/p>\n July 9, 2026 (Thu.)\u00a0 13:10 \u2013 14:50<\/p>\n Room #1106, Building #3, Waseda Campus, Waseda University<\/p>\n Students, Graduate students, Faculty members, Research members, General Participants<\/p>\n English<\/p>\n Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS)Collaborators<\/h5>\n
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\nPublic Opinion and Media Data Research Group, WINPEC, Waseda University<\/p>\n