As the preceding section demonstrated, the z-standardized comparisons across the three stages revealed distinct empirical patterns of how incivility unfolds across contexts. Building on these empirical patterns, three ideal-typical spiral trajectories of political incivility can be theorized: reinforcing, reactive, and dampened. Each captures a distinct configuration in how incivility unfolds across the communicative chain, shaped by the interplay of actor behavior, platform affordances, and audience response (Table 4.1).