I love you but I hate your politics
The role of political dissimilarity in romantic relationships
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10153838 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amie M Gordon (0000-0001-9232-3672, University of Michigan, corresponding author), Maria Luciani (0009-0007-4693-6241, University of California, Berkeley), Annika From (0000-0001-8656-6790, University of Michigan) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 129 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 692-713 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-25 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1037/pspi0000467 |
| PMID | 39052389 |
| OpenAlex | W4400982318 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
Amid heightened political polarization in the United States, have politics worked their way into the bedroom? An increase in political similarity between romantic partners has consequences not just for romantic relationships but for society as a whole; political homophily increases our political echo chambers and affects future generations. We drew upon 11 data sets with over 4,000 individuals (including more than 500 couples) to test four preregistered research questions about the prevalence, correlates, consequences, and potential buffers of political dissimilarity in modern-day relationships. Across measures of similarity (overall perceptions, partisanship matching, shared political ideology), couples in our sample showed high levels of political similarity (e.g., 23% were cross-partisan, with fewer than 8% composed of one Democrat and one Republican). Examining 18 potential correlates of political dissimilarity, we found little evidence that certain factors predispose people to end up in a politically dissimilar relationship. When considering the potential consequences of political dissimilarity, we found a small association between political dissimilarity and relationship quality in general and in daily life. The effect was evident when examining perceived political dissimilarity (over and above perceptions of overall similarity) and, to a lesser extent, dissimilarity in terms of partisanship and political ideology. Prosocial processes such as appreciation and perspective-taking may moderate these effects. Taken together, these findings speak to the need to further consider the ways in which the sociopolitical context is shaping the formation and maintenance of close relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Context (archaeology · Homophily · Ideology · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political science · Politics · Prosocial behavior · PsycINFO · Romance · Similarity (geometry · Voting · Voting behavior · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia
Good People and Getting Along
Intimate Relationship Types as Quality-of-Life Predictors in Emerging Adulthood
From First Dates to Long-Term Commitment
Intimate Partners’ Political Influence
The Relational Load of Political Dissimilarity in Romantic Relationships
Presumed orientation and performative appeasement
Left or right? The link between political orientation and partner preferences in a multinational sample of single women
| Citations per year | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |