More than a party : how party affiliation affects intergroup dating

Political parties are one of the most important social groups in modern America. Research in political science has shown that an individual's political identity is more than just an indicator of ideological opinions. A political party can indicate a number of other social characteristics at play, even going so far as predicting favorite TV stations or favorite grocery stores. Despite this overarching effect on social life, the study of homogamy as it pertains to political identity has not historically been considered in a social context. Previous research has tended to focus on the individual preferences of prospective dates. While this aspect is important it only a portion of the bigger picture. This thesis was created in order to broaden the scope of political homogamy. I created a survey using theory from sociology, political science, social psychology, intergroup contact theory, and theory on homogamy in order to collect data on the dating habits of various political partisans. The survey received 217 total responses and included responses from across the United States and multiple racial and political groups. What was found was that in general the more closely attached an individual is to their political party, the less likely they are to date members of other parties. The same result holds true for dating people with different opinions on abortion. However not every party shares this relationship and some are not affected by political attachment at all. Additionally, racial attachment in general was shown to decrease willingness to date between races, even though this relationship was evident in all racial groups. In order to fully consider dating in a social context I also measured how the relationships of friends to the respondent effected inter-group dating as well as copartisan disapproval and perceived marginalization. Friends having relationships with non-group members has been shown to increase willingness to date between groups while the disapproval of