When politics meets dating: how moral concern, utopianism, and communication competence predict willingness to date across the political divide

Abstract

Political orientations are increasingly relevant to romantic relationships. Self-categorization theory suggests that individuals prefer partners with the same political views. However, few studies have identified the factors associated with willingness to date or not to date across the political divide. Using survey data from 416 single participants from Hong Kong, the study found that older, female, and participants who were politically neutral or yellow were less willing to date across the political divide. Furthermore, a greater belief in politics–morality equivalence (i.e. regarding people from the opposite political camp as morally different from themselves) was associated with less willingness to date across the divide; this association was more negative among people with higher communication competence. At the same time, among people with a higher level of communication competence, utopianism (i.e. believing ideal worlds may exist) was positively associated with such willingness. The results demonstrate that communication competence has a paradoxical influence on willingness to date across the political divide, which challenges the assumption that communication can bridge the divide between people who hold different views.