Lovesick: the effects of political partisanship and COVID-19 vaccine perceptions on online romantic partner selection

Many studies have reported the positive relationship of perceived political similarity with dating intention in the world of online dating. However, there are currently no studies which consider this relationship alongside coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine status and their combined influence on romantic consideration. In this study, we conduct a posttest-only design with a 2 (vaccinated) x 2 (political affiliation) x 2 (gender) online experiment, including variables such as vaccine perceptions, party identification, sensation seeking, and dating intention. Participants (N=97) were shown four avatar profiles of the opposite sex; each profile was displayed as vaccinated or unvaccinated and Democrat or Republican. Once exposed to these dating profile, subjects answered a survey to determine how individual dating intention differed in relation to the subject's own political affiliation and "vaccination status." The results indicate that males and females have higher dating intention with partners that have political similarity. However, females have higher dating intention with partners who share vaccine similarity while males have no relationship between vaccine similarity on dating intention. The implications of these findings may suggest that the formation of romantic relationships is currently influenced by personal health decisions compared to the decisions of potential online partners; this being a symptom of a much larger degree of affective polarization in the United States which continues to grow.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication (MU)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Columbia

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Seymour, Caleb R.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ranjit, Yerina S.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/94028

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/94028