Fig 1.
Illustration of the variables in the model.
The illustration is presented from the perspective of a member of group 1, interacting with an individual on the other side of the group boundary. The individual categorization error is the difference between individual distance and group distance. Group 2 is not shown in this illustration.
Fig 2.
Stable fixed points of boundary positions for both groups: (a) for a uniform attribute distribution, (b) for the symmetrical Beta distribution with shape parameters α = 2 and β = 2, (c) for the asymmetrical Beta distribution with α = 2 and β = 4, and (d) for a bi-modal distribution which is the sum of two Beta distributions, whose shape parameters are α = 2, β = 7, and α = 7, β = 2.
Fig 3.
The mean thermometer values (reflecting feeling favorably or unfavorably) towards both political parties and political independents reported by registered party members (ANES).
The error bars are 95% confidence interval of the mean. For both registered Democrats and Republicans, political independents are perceived similarly compared to members of the other party, while members of own party are perceived more favorably.