The Differential Effects of Stress on Voter Turnout

Abstract

While everyone deals with stressful situations on a daily basis, individuals have different behavioral reactions to that stress. We argue that life stress also affects individuals' political behavior, but this effect is contingent on their past political involvement. While individuals familiar with and engaged in the political process are unaffected when confronted with stress in life, individuals who are not routinely involved in the electoral process are more likely to disengage from politics. To test the differential effects of stress on the likelihood of political involvement, we fielded two experiments, one preceding the U.S. presidential election of 2012 and the second preceding the 2013 municipal election in a small Midwestern American town. We find that when triggered to consider life stressors unrelated to politics, individuals without a history of past participation in politics are less likely to vote while individuals who are habitual voters are unaffected.

Voting, health and interventions in healthcare settings: a scoping review

“…Within the healthcare setting, Wass et al found that proxy voting as a voter facilitator instrument can increase voter turnout for those suffering from ill health or disability [47]. Hassell and Settle ran an interventional study that induced life stressors on patients and found that increasing stress decreased likelihood to vote for typical nonvoters [44]. Liggett et al conducted an evaluation of clinician-led, nonpartisan voter registration drives over 12 weeks within two university-affiliated health centers in the Bronx, New York [45].…”

When Bad News is Good News: Information Acquisition in Times of Economic Crisis

“…When it comes to cognitive resources, early studies have noted that economic strife focuses people's attention on the most pressing material problems, such as applying for social benefits, borrowing money or moving into cheaper housing; hence less time, energy and attention are available for matters that are unrelated to economic struggles, including public affairs (Jahoda, Lazarsfeld & Zeisel 1972;Rosenstone 1982). More recent research shows that economic hardship and the attendant anxiety diminish cognitive resources to devote to non-economic concerns (Hassell & Settle 2017;Levine 2015;Marx & Nguyen 2016). When people feel anxious, they are less able to engage in adaptive behaviour patterns (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos & Calvo 2007), compromising their ability to pay attention to incoming information (Wegbreit, Franconeri & Beeman 2014), retain such information (Eysenck & Calvo 1992) or process it optimally (Leon & Revelle 1985).…”

“…To understand how informed citizens are in times of economic upheaval, we first distinguish between economic hardship at the individual level and an economic recession at the macro level, and then consider explicitly their interaction. When economic hardship is experienced personally, it puts a strain on citizens' cognitive resources and motivation to engage in politics (Hassell and Settle 2017;Levine 2015;Marx and Nguyen 2016;Solt 2008), thus likely resulting in lower levels of information. A far-reaching macroeconomic crisis, however, is likely to trigger alarm and generate grievances about poor macroeconomic conditions among the general public, far and beyond those who are directly affected by the crisis (cf.…”

Follow Your Heart: Could Psychophysiology Be Associated with Political Discussion Network Homogeneity?

“…For example, French, Smith, Alford, Guck, Birnie, and Hibbing () demonstrate a relationship between stress, measured by cortisol levels, and voting behavior. Similarly, Settle and Hassell () find that nonpolitical life stressors can reduce political participation among low‐propensity voters. This research presents a nice foundation for the idea that individuals will avoid engaging in behaviors that might contribute to uncomfortable feelings, such as stress.…”