Do Political Beliefs Drive Environment Selection

Bibliographic Data

ID6180155
AuthorsLauren Ratliff Santoro (0000-0002-8914-4507, The University of Texas at Dallas, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume51
Issue1
Pages108-124
Publication date2023-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Politics Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1532-673X • E-ISSN: 1552-3373
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1532673x221112394
OpenAlexW4284881623
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited62

Scholars interested in understanding if and to what extent social environments influence individual political behavior are plagued by the reality that individuals construct their social environments. Though there is acknowledgement that this construction is determined by homophily – likes associating with likes – the extent to which political beliefs drive environment selection is yet untested. This paper seeks to understand the extent to which political beliefs inform individuals’ decisions on which social environments to select into. To do so, I follow individuals as they select into social environments across their first year in a university setting – first contacting them before they are embedded in a new social environment, tracking their selections into friendships and groups, and observing how their attitudes change over a year and a half period. Results demonstrate that political beliefs can be significant predictors of selection into non-political social contexts, especially for those with the strongest beliefs about politics

Acknowledgement · Homophily · Political communication · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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