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Your political leanings determine who you find to be attractive

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BY KEVIN SAWYER – A recent research study seems to suggest that your political leanings and beliefs play a huge role in who you find to be attractive and who you find to be less attractive. Unrelated research has discovered that people who are romantically involved, and even married, rarely seem to get together across the major political party lines. Only about 30% of the population are married to mates of a different political party but only 10% of all couples are a Democrat/Republican one.

The latest findings, published in Political Behavior, declares that, once you discover the political leanings and biases of someone else, it actually determines your opinion of them and whether or not you find them physically attractive.

Stephen Nicholson, the lead author on the study said that, “People are likely to see people from the other political party as less attractive and we found that for both men and women.”

What seems to ultimately be in play here is what many psychology and sociology researchers term as “in group bias”. Basically, if some one is not in your particular social group, you tend to find them less attractive on all levels. Those who are members of your particular social or culture group are seen in a more positive light than those who belong to other groups. The feelings become stronger and more aggressive when groups are in competition and politics can be a powerful competitive force.

The study was performed during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The subjects of the research were shown pictures of both men and women that the researchers considered to be “moderately attractive” and then listed a quick profile for them on certain likes and dislikes. The profile also included whether the person supported Obama or Romney for president.

When people discovered the political leanings of the people in the photos, they were immediately drawn to the person who supported the same candidate as they did but found the others to be far less attractive even though they were, physically, attractive people from a non-biased standpoint of reference.

Social research over the years has found a direct link between being considered attractive and enjoying certain perks and benefits of living in our society and culture. People considered to be attractive usually make more money and live in better neighborhoods and tend to enjoy better health. In addition, research has found that people who are considered physically attractive are considered by others to be more trustworthy and more intelligent.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay