Political ideology: Basis for a dynamic social identity

Because the political world has become increasingly polarized and contentious, people’s political ideologies form the basis for a social identity of growing importance and influence. This chapter discusses the foundations of political identity, as well as its effects on consumer behavior. The authors isolate a key dimension distinguishing liberals and conservatives, system justification motivation, and draw implications for how this disposition influences various consumer behaviors. Further, adopting a dynamic view, they examine transitory situational factors that can either increase or decrease a person’s system justification motivation and alter behaviors.