Policy Voting, Projection, and Persuasion: An Application of Balance Theory to Electoral Behavior

Visser, Max

doi:10.2307/3791628

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Psychological mechanisms of rationalization, such as persuasion or projection, may account for the reverse influence of voting on political values (Brody & Page, ). For example, Visser () noted that those who vote for a party for reasons other than its policies (e.g., a candidate's personality) may subsequently adapt their own positions to fit those of the party they chose. Voters may also mistakenly project their own positions on an attractive party, misperceiving its true policies.…”

Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voting and Values: Reciprocal Effects over Time

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Dentale

et al. 2013

Political Psychology

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Two studies investigated reciprocal effects of values and voting. Study 1 measured adults' basic values and core political values both before (n=1379) and following (n=1030) the 2006 Italian national election. Both types of values predicted voting. Voting choice influenced subsequent core political values but not basic values. The political values of free enterprise, civil liberties, equality, law and order, military intervention, and accepting immigrants changed to become more compatible with the ideology of the chosen coalition. Study 2 measured core political values before (n=697) and following (n=506) the 2008 Italian national election. It largely replicated the reciprocal effects of voting and political values of Study 1. In addition, it demonstrated that left-right ideology mediated the reciprocal effects of voting and political values. Moreover, voter certainty moderated these effects. Political values predicted vote choice more weakly among undecided than decided voters, but voting choice led to more value change among undecided voters. © 2013 International Society of Political Psychology

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Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voting and Values: Reciprocal Effects over Time

Vecchione

Caprara

Dentale

et al. 2013

Political Psychology

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“…Several researchers have used the balance premise to understand and explain a range of attitudes and behaviors from political views, affiliations, and actions, to consumer behavior (Basil and Herr, 2006;Moore, 1978;Shaffer, 1981;Visser, 1994;Woodside and Chebat, 2001). Yet, no known study has derived hypotheses from this framework regarding peer influence on delinquency.…”

Section: Delinquent Peers and Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Delinquency Balance: Revisiting Peer Influence*

2009

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An impressive number of inquiries across an array of methodological specifications has demonstrated that deviant peers are an important correlate of various criminological outcomes, which include within‐ individual change and stability in offending behavior. Still, the causal mechanisms of peer influence arguably remain underdeveloped (Giordano, 2003; Warr, 2002). In an attempt to expand the dialogue on the nature of peer influence, this inquiry proposes that scholars would benefit from considering relative peer deviance in addition to exposure to deviant peers. Specifically, it argues that an imbalance in delinquency between friends helps to explain delinquency change/stability; therefore, exposure to deviant peers is not always risky and exposure to less deviant peers is not always protective. The analysis uses the Add Health data to construct within‐individual and across‐individual (delinquency) difference scores and relies on self‐reports rather than on perceptions for the best friends' delinquency. The results provide support for the premise that adolescents attempt to achieve delinquency “balance” with their best friend by changing behavior, net of raw peer deviance levels (i.e., objective exposure). The findings also suggest that balance is not achieved through selection, given that the deviance gap between the respondent and his or her best friend does not predict friendship stability. The discussion considers these results from a theoretical and empirical perspective and offers several avenues for future research.

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“…Numerous studies (e.g., Markus & Converse, 1979;Merrill, Grofman, & Adams, 2001;Visser, 1994;Jensen, 2009) have shown that people tend to "project": They perceive parties they like as being closer to them than they actually are ("assimilation") and parties they dislike as being further away than they are ("contrast"). This may not be warranted.…”

Section: Model and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sources of Valence Judgments

Zakharova

Warwick

2014

Comparative Political Studies

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Although the concept of valence figures in many studies of voting behavior, very few have investigated its sources. In this article, we address this deficiency by assessing the extent to which individual valence assessments are affected by the left-right policy distance between parties and respondents as well as by their locations relative to the center of the left-right spectrum. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, we find very widespread support for both hypotheses. Correcting for differential item functioning (DIF) reveals that, although respondents tend to over-estimate the distance to 'opposite-side' parties, these misperceptions do not account for our findings. Indeed, with DIF corrected, most surveys reveal tendencies not only for opposite-side parties to be given lower valence scores in general, but also for policy distance to be counted more heavily against them. The article concludes with a discussion of possible sources of this bilateral structuring of valence assessments.

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Policy Voting, Projection, and Persuasion: An Application of Balance Theory to Electoral Behavior

Abstract: In this article di$erences between rational

Cited by 27 publications

References 22 publications

Voting and Values: Reciprocal Effects over Time

Voting and Values: Reciprocal Effects over Time

Delinquency Balance: Revisiting Peer Influence*

The Sources of Valence Judgments

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