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Party identification refers to the political party with which an individual is affiliated with. Party identification is typically determined by the political party that an individual most commonly supports (by voting or other means).
Some researchers view party identification as "a form of social identity",[1][2] in the same way that a person identifies with a religious or ethnic group. This identity develops early in a person's life mainly through family and social influences. This description would make party identification a stable perspective, which develops as a consequence of personal, family, social, and environmental factors. Other researchers consider party identification to be more flexible and more of a conscious choice. They see it as a position and a choice based on the continued assessment of the political, economic, and social environment. Party identification can increase or even shift by motivating events or conditions in the country.
Party identification has been most studied in the United States where it is considered among the most stable and early-formed identities an individual may have.[3] In other countries, party identification has often been considered a subset of other levels of identity such as class, religion, or language; or to vary rapidly over time.[2]
A number of studies have found that a partisan lens affects how a person perceives the world.[4][5][6] Partisan voters judge character flaws more harshly in rival candidates than their own, believe the economy is doing better when their own party is in power, and underplay scandals and failures of their own side.[7] A recent study shows that the impact of partisanship is likely to be the largest relative to other social identities over class, religion, gender, age, and even nationality, by analyzing 25 democracies in Europe,[8] whose party identification has been viewed to be more flexible and weaker compared to that of the United States.
Party Identification can also be looked at in British politics. In the UK, the two main political parties are the Labour Party and the Conservative Party but there are also other smaller challenger parties. Research shows that fewer British people identify with a political party now than thirty years ago.[9] In 2012, a study showed that 72% of Britons surveyed did identify with a political party.[9] Younger people are generally less likely to identify with a political party in comparison to both older voters and voters thirty years ago.
- ^ Hershey, 101
- ^ a b Donald P. Green; Bradley Palmquist; Eric Schickler (2004). Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties and the Social Identities of Voters. Yale University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-300-10156-0.
- ^ Campbell, Angus; Converse, Philip; Miller, Warren; Stokes, Donald (1960). The American Voter.
- ^ Nyhan, Brendan, and Jason Reifler. "When corrections fail: The persistence of political misperceptions." Political Behavior 32, no. 2 (2010): 303-330.
- ^ Jerit, Jennifer, and Jason Barabas. "Partisan perceptual bias and the information environment." The Journal of Politics 74, no. 3 (2012): 672-684.
- ^ Bartels, Larry M. "Beyond the running tally: Partisan bias in political perceptions." Political behavior 24, no. 2 (2002): 117-150.
- ^ Eric Groenendyk (5 September 2013). Competing Motives in the Partisan Mind: How Loyalty and Responsiveness Shape Party Identification and Democracy. OUP USA. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-19-996980-7.
- ^ Hahm, Hyeonho; Hilpert, David; König, Thomas (2023-03-30). "Divided We Unite: The Nature of Partyism and the Role of Coalition Partnership in Europe". American Political Science Review. 118: 69–87. doi:10.1017/S0003055423000266. ISSN 0003-0554. S2CID 257873474.
- ^ a b https://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media/38455/bsa30_politics_final.pdf [bare URL PDF]