Party Loyalty Alters Perceptions of Attractiveness, Especially Among Women

Why Party Might Shape Beauty Perceptions

Political identities can shape how people see others in surprisingly intimate ways. Stephen Nicholson, Chelsea Coe, Jason Emory, and Anna Song ask whether knowing someone’s presidential candidate preference changes how physically attractive that person appears. The question probes partisan in-group and out-group bias beyond policy or voting: does politics seep into basic social judgments like attractiveness?

What the Authors Tested

The authors test whether being told that a photographed individual supports the same or a different presidential candidate affects attractiveness ratings. This frames candidate preference as a salient social identity cue that could trigger favorable treatment of co-partisans and negative evaluation of opponents.

How the Study Worked

• A nationally representative internet sample of U.S. adults was collected during the 2012 presidential election.
• Participants viewed photos of individuals and were randomly given information about each target’s presidential candidate preference.
• The experiment compared attractiveness ratings for targets labeled as sharing versus opposing the respondent’s candidate preference.

Key Findings

• Partisan respondents of both genders rated targets as less attractive when the target supported a different presidential candidate.
• Female partisans showed an additional in-group boost: they rated targets who shared their candidate preference as more attractive.
• Male partisans did not exhibit this positive in-group attractiveness effect; their ratings were driven mainly by reductions for out-party targets.

Implications for Political Behavior and Social Perception

These results show that partisan identity can color even low-stakes, personal judgments like perceptions of physical attractiveness. The findings suggest gender differences in how positive versus negative partisan evaluations play out, and imply that partisan sorting may reach into everyday social impressions—potentially affecting interpersonal interactions, social networks, and the tone of partisan conflict.