Have you ever agreed to hit that same so-so restaurant for the third time in a month because your friends were all for it? Or, found yourself saying, “Sure, I’ll join the work bowling night,” even though you’d rather be anywhere else? Welcome to being human—where our brains have a funny way of nudging us to follow the group, sometimes at the expense of our individual preferences. 

This “follow the crowd” tendency shows up in our politics, too. If our political party backs a particular stance, our brains often steer us to follow along—whether we realize it or not—even on issues we might see differently.

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The psychology around the party pull

This isn’t just a fun quirk; it’s a well-documented phenomenon. Across multiple studies involving hundreds of people, researchers found that when a political party we support endorses a policy or stance, we often follow suit. Geoffrey L. Cohen, a Yale University social psychologist, explored this in four in-depth studies. He and his team discovered that people’s attitudes toward policies are often based more on whether their political party endorsed it than on the actual details of the policy.​

Following what feels like "home"

So, why do we let our party leanings override our personal beliefs? It’s all about belonging. As social creatures, we rely on groups we identify with—especially when it comes to shared values—to help us navigate complex issues.

Our brains love shortcuts, and the party can act as a fast track to forming opinions in politics. Instead of digging into each policy detail, we rely on what our group says, especially robust or confusing issues. Our party can feel like a “home base”—a safe and familiar place. So if our party takes a stance, our brain tends to follow, reshaping our beliefs to fit what feels like “home.”

Political shape-shifting to fit our party

Imagine two versions of a healthcare policy: one offering generous benefits and another more restrictive. If you lean conservative, you might initially favor the stricter option. But if your party endorses the generous plan, your brain gets to work reframing that policy to fit conservative values—thinking, “Well, maybe it helps people help themselves in the long run.” Conversely, a liberal who sees their party supporting a tough-on-benefits stance might rationalize that it promotes fairness or long-term self-reliance. These studies revealed that people can fully adopt their party’s position, even when it contradicts their initial preferences.

Would you still support the same policy if the ‘other side’ endorsed it? Here’s where it gets interesting: even though most of us are swayed by group influence, we often believe we’re forming opinions based solely on the facts. This is known as the “bias blind spot,” where we see others as swayed by social influence but consider ourselves objective and independent thinkers. 

When Cohen’s study participants were asked if party endorsement influenced their views, they denied it. They genuinely believed they were assessing policies based on the facts, even when their party’s influence drove their decisions.

So next time you think, “I’d never be swayed like that,” you might want to pause and check. The first step? Acknowledge that party loyalty might be swaying your views. When a new policy pops up, try looking at it with fresh eyes—without noting who’s endorsing it. Can you support the policy based on its merit? This slight mental shift can help us reconnect with our personal beliefs—even when they differ from the crowd.‍

The bottom line

Our tendency to follow our social group is natural human behavior. 

Our brains are wired to seek community and belonging, but that doesn’t mean our political party preference has to dictate our beliefs. In today’s fast-paced world of headlines and sound bites, a little reflection can go a long way. By consciously putting policies before parties, we can stay true to our values, bridge divides, and maybe even discover common ground.

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