In a study released by Psychological Science, political affiliation is linked to consumer purchasing, including choice in beer, according to AlterNet.
Led by Vishal Singh of New York University’s Stern School of Business, the project examined consumer tastes across 416 counties in the United States, measuring 26 product categories ranging from frozen pizza preference to toothpaste. Over six years, Singh and his associates analyzed data and came find that a consumer’s political subconscious affects brands and items.
Salon stated that brain behavior has already shown the effects of political ideology, with many experiments concluding that bedroom organization, sense of humor and video game playing strategies are tied to party affiliation. Major international corporations have already tapped into the notion of politicized consumers and tailored it to their marketing.
Researchers found that more conservative counties tended to stick with established brand names and products, while more liberal counties fared better with the introduction of new and generic products. However, liberals will gravitates to well-known brands if the products typify the party’s leanings and ideology.
An earlier version of Singh’s experiment found that beer preference can be influenced by political ideology. Specifically, conservatives are more likely to purchase and enjoy domestic beers while liberals are more likely to taste foreign imports.