A new study provides evidence that politics matter in determining spousal choices:
In an article published in the April issue of the Journal of Politics, researchers examined physical and behavioral traits of more than 5,000 married couples in the United States. They found spouses in the study appeared to instinctively select a partner who has similar social and political views.
“It turns out that people place more emphasis on finding a mate who is a kindred spirit with regard to politics, religion and social activity than they do on finding someone of like physique or personality,” said John Alford, associate professor of political science at Rice University and the study’s lead author.
It goes on to say that there is little evidence for “spousal persuasion”. It’s generally the pattern that spouses are similar in their political attitudes from the get-go.
The whole article write-up is available here and is worth a read:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110510151221.htm
