Sleeping with the enemy: partisanship and tolerance in online dating

Sleiman, Yara, Melios, George ORCID: 0000-0001-5027-9829 and Dolan, Paul (2025) Sleeping with the enemy: partisanship and tolerance in online dating. Political Science Research and Methods. ISSN 2049-8470

Text (sleeping-with-the-enemy-partisanship-and-tolerance-in-online-dating) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

Abstract

Political polarization has transcended political arenas, influencing personal decisions. While such biases are often ascribed to out-group animosity, a person’s “party tag” may act as a proxy for other characteristics, overstating partisanship’s role in private life. To explore this, we focus on online dating, using a conjoint experiment with 3,000 UK participants to isolate the effect of partisanship from other traits. Our findings indicate that the influence of partisanship is on par with conventional criteria like physical appearance, yet tolerance for opposing views plays an even stronger role. We also find imporant partisan asymmetries: both groups favour co-partisans, but Labour supporters are twice as likely to do so. Counter-stereotypic profiles reduce bias among Conservatives but heighten it among Labour supporters.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology J Political Science
Date Deposited:	20 May 2025 09:12
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2025 12:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/128147

Actions (login required)

View Item