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Building on recent studies of social pressure and group conformity in peer groups, I apply a social identity framework from social psychology to the study of political networks. Using the American National Election Studies (ANES) 2008-2009 Panel Study, I test several hypotheses regarding the relationship between peer networks, the salience of partisan identity, and the consequences for intergroup attitudinal and affective polarization. The findings suggest that peer network homogeneity produces the strongest association with more salient partisan identities across several network characteristics, including cohesiveness, sophistication, and density. Both the salience of partisan identities and network homogeneity are also linked to significant intergroup polarization, that is, differences in in-group and out-group partisan affect. The current research contributes to the existing literature on political networks by highlighting the role of social identities and providing a theoretical framework worth considering for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines how interpersonal social networks relate to the voting behavior of men and women. We argue that underlying the gender gap in voting is related to social processes that depend on the partisan and sex composition of networks. Analysis of the 2000 American National Election Study identified two ways that sex differences are relevant to network explanations of voting behavior. First, men have more sex homophily in their networks than women. As men are more likely to be Republican than women, this leads to different discussion environments for men and women. Second, men—and not women—are more likely to share the political opinion of women discussants, but only when they are pro-Bush and the remainder of the network is also supportive. The results support a social model of voting behavior that highlights the importance of social factors (in this case sex) other than just partisan differences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]