Virginians who are in love pay more attention to politics than those who are not in love, according to a survey released yesterday by the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
According to the survey, 81 percent of adults in the Commonwealth are in love. Of those citizens, 31 percent reported that they pay "a great deal of attention" to government and politics compared to 23 percent of those who are not in love.
"One reason is that one part of your life may be settled," Center Director Larry J. Sabato said, noting that looking for love is time-consuming.
Politics prof. Paul Freedman said love is often overlooked in politics, even though it is relevant to political debates on topics such as same-sex marriage.
"In other parts of life, whether art or music or literature, people pay a lot of attention to love," Freedman said. "In politics, we pay a lot of attention to emotions but very little to love."
The survey also found that Republicans reported a higher incidence of being in love than Democrats; 85 percent of Republicans said they are in love compared to 83 percent of Independents and 75 percent of Democrats.
Sabato and Freedman both noted that the disparity in love between Democrats and Republicans can be attributed to the fact that more Republicans are married than Democrats. The survey found that 97 percent of married people are in love while only 53 percent of never-married participants and 46 percent of divorced participants reported that they are in love.
"This survey is really good news for marriage," Freedman said.
In addition to its political findings, the survey also found gender differences in love perceptions.
Men are more likely than women to refuse to say whether they are in love or to say they do not know whether they are in love, the survey results stated. "Maybe [the results] speak to the culture in terms of how women are much more expressive and more emotional," said Tiffany Gilbert, a University professor in theStudies in Women and Gender department, noting that women are conditioned to express emotion through the influences of movies and television shows.
The survey also found that the percentage of people in love also varied among age groups, with 89 percent of those 45 to 54 years old reporting that they are in love compared to only 61 percent of those 18-24 years old.
Joshua Scott, director of programs at the Center for Politics, said the Center had never before conducted research on this topic.
"[The survey] was as much out of curiosity as anything," Scott said. "We had no idea what the response was going to be."
The Center for Politics and the University Center for Survey Research surveyed 1,181 Virginians for this report following the November 2005 elections.
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