A new study reveals that political party affiliation is the most powerful driver of social polarization in the United States—surpassing race, religion, income, and education
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Partisan identity drives social polarization more than race or religion, study finds
The researchers conducted a conjoint survey experiment with 1,330 participants, presenting them with pairs of hypothetical individuals described by various characteristics: political party, ideology, race, religion, income, and education level. Participants evaluated these profiles and indicated their social preferences—whom they would choose as a friend, neighbor, or family member.
By measuring both attitudes and projected interpersonal choices, the study distinguished between abstract partisan dislike and actual willingness to exclude others based on political identity.
The results clearly demonstrated that partisan identity outweighs all other social factors in shaping Americans’ attitudes toward others. Political party affiliation emerged as the strongest predictor of both in-group favoritism and out-group bias.
While both Democrats and Republicans preferred their own groups, the data revealed that out-group hostility was more intense than in-group loyalty. Americans appear more motivated by whom they dislike than whom they support. Democrats displayed particularly strong negative feelings toward Republicans compared to the reverse.
Contrary to expectations, having “cross-cutting” identities (such as being a conservative Democrat or a liberal Christian) did not reduce polarization. People with unexpected identity combinations weren’t treated more favorably, nor were they less likely to exhibit bias themselves.