Origins and measurement
Stouffer (1955) asked Americans whether communists or atheists should be allowed to give speeches, teach or have books in libraries, and found ordinary citizens less tolerant than community leaders. Sullivan et al. (1979) criticized asking about preselected groups, arguing that this measures only changing dislike of those groups. They proposed the least-liked group measure, in which respondents choose the group they dislike most and are then asked whether its members should have rights, and argued that the apparent rise in tolerance from the 1950s to the 1970s was largely illusory.
What drives tolerance
Marcus et al. (1995) found perceived threat from a group to be the strongest predictor of intolerance, with emotions and threat judgments in concrete situations mattering more than general support for democratic principles. Nelson et al. (1997) showed experimentally that people who saw coverage of a KKK rally framed as free speech were more tolerant than those who saw it framed as public order. This connects with how strong affective polarization or moral conviction makes it harder to accept opponents' rights.
Relationship with democracy
Gibson (1992) showed that an intolerant social climate makes individuals feel less free to express themselves, highlighting the political consequences of intolerance. Sullivan and Transue (1999) argued that tolerance, interpersonal trust and social capital form the psychological foundations of democracy. Mondak and Sanders (2003) reanalyzed long-term trends by distinguishing tolerance from intolerance, and Gibson (2006), looking back on fifty years since Stouffer, noted that defining and measuring tolerance and comparing it across nations remain open problems.
FAQ
- What is political tolerance in simple terms?
- It is accepting that even opinions or groups you dislike have the right to speak, assemble and take part in politics.
- How is it different from liking a group?
- Tolerance only applies to things you dislike. Supporting the rights of a group you like is not considered tolerance.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Stouffer, S. A. (1955). Communism, conformity, and civil liberties: A cross-section of the nation speaks its mind. Doubleday. Classic McCarthy-era survey that founded the field.
- Sullivan, J. L., Piereson, J., & Marcus, G. E. (1979). An alternative conceptualization of political tolerance: Illusory increases 1950s–1970s. American Political Science Review, 73(3), 781–794. Introduced the least-liked group measure.
- Marcus, G. E., Sullivan, J. L., Theiss-Morse, E., & Wood, S. L. (1995). With malice toward some: How people make civil liberties judgments. Cambridge University Press. Book on threat, emotion and tolerance judgments.
- Gibson, J. L. (1992). The political consequences of intolerance: Cultural conformity and political freedom. American Political Science Review, 86(2), 338–356. Intolerant culture constrains perceived freedom.
- Nelson, T. E., Clawson, R. A., & Oxley, Z. M. (1997). Media framing of a civil liberties conflict and its effect on tolerance. American Political Science Review, 91(3), 567–583. Framing experiments on tolerance.
- Sullivan, J. L., & Transue, J. E. (1999). The psychological underpinnings of democracy: A selective review of research on political tolerance, interpersonal trust, and social capital. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 625–650. Review linking tolerance, trust and social capital.
- Mondak, J. J., & Sanders, M. S. (2003). Tolerance and intolerance, 1976–1998. American Journal of Political Science, 47(3), 492–502. Long-term trends separating tolerance and intolerance.
- Gibson, J. L. (2006). Enigmas of intolerance: Fifty years after Stouffer's communism, conformity, and civil liberties. Perspectives on Politics, 4(1), 21–34. Fifty-year retrospective on tolerance research.