How Liberal-Conservative Friendship Diversity Could Improve Interpolitical Relations in the United States

Abstract

Using three online experimental studies of liberals and conservatives in the United States (N = 696), we explore whether an interaction partner’s political friendship diversity could reduce people’s experience of social identity threat. In the first two studies, liberal and conservative participants who were exposed to a political outgroup member with a politically diverse friendship network (vs. a politically homogeneous friendship network or control condition) had improved meta-perception concerns and increased friendship interest. In the third study, having a partner with a politically diverse network of friends, compared with the homogeneous condition, largely led liberal and conservative participants to have improved meta-perceptions, increased friendship interest, improved perceptions, increased interest in learning about their partner, believed their partner was more interested in learning about them, and lessened dehumanization of their interaction partner. This research suggests that interpolitical friendship diversity has the potential to improve interpolitical relations.