In the U.S., Democrats and Republicans often come close to blows when facing against each other. However, do biases against political parties weigh stronger in American minds than racial biases?
Researchers from Stanford University say yes. In two separate, albeit limited, experiments, researchers found that people held stronger biases against those of different political parties than against races different from their own.
Hostile feelings between the two political parties are common. We see them every day on television talk shows, where members of the two parties are always in conflict with each other. We see it in our government, when politicians constantly clash over key national issues -- and that divide is growing.
According to the researchers, these attitudes against opposing political beliefs are ingrained, something we carry with us without even knowing it. It's increasing, thanks to negative campaigning, as well as negative and misleading commentary from news sources. This creates negative stereotypes of both liberals and conservatives.
"The polarization of the American electorate has dramatically increased," says Shanto Iyengar, co-author of the study. "We show that the level of partisan animus in the American public exceeds racial hostility."
The research team gathered volunteers for two specific experiments. In the first survey, researchers asked 1,000 people how they viewed resumes for high school students requesting college scholarships. Some contained racial cues, while others contained political party affiliation cues. The results showed that race mattered to some. For example, African-American volunteers chose African-American candidates, although Caucasians also showed slight preferences for African-American candidates.
However, the political divide was much greater. Democrats and Republicans chose those affiliated with their own party nearly 80 percent of the time, even if candidates from other parties had stronger credentials.
In their second study, the research team collected 800 volunteers. Some were given money, while others were potential recipients of that money. Researchers told those with money that they could give any amount to recipients or keep some or all of it. Results showed that people gave more to those affiliated with their own political party. In this part of the research, race didn't seem to matter.
This study, however, doesn't look at the more complex issues that lead to racial bias. In the U.S., political affiliation itself often factors into attitudes about race, as does socioeconomic status and upbringing.
However, this research does show the increasing hatred growing between U.S. political parties.
"If anything, the rhetoric and actions of political leaders demonstrate that hostility directed at the opposition is acceptable, even appropriate," says Iyengar. "While Republicans view fellow partisans as patriotic, well-informed and altruistic, Democrats are judged to exhibit precisely the opposite traits."
