Party Identification Research Articles

What Do You Mean by “Democrat” and “Republican”? Evidence from a Conjoint Experiment

Abstract To better understand the nature of American mass party identification, it is crucial to examine how voters understand terms used in measuring partisanship in public opinion surveys, such as “Democrat” and “Republican.” For this purpose, we conducted a conjoint experiment where respondents evaluated hypothetical profiles’ partisanship. We show that, in contrast to previous studies which rely on one theoretical perspective to understand mass partisanship, multiple theories are reflected in how voters understand labels representing their partisanship. Further, the results suggest that many Americans seem to equate party identification with vote choice, contrary to standard assumptions in American political behavior research that these are separate concepts.

What matters for keeping or losing support in televised debates

What leads citizens to change their candidate preferences during televised debates? The present paper addresses this question with real-time response and panel survey data from respondents recruited in the run-up to the 2017 German national election. Probing the importance of party identity and performance perceptions formed during the debate, the analysis more closely examines several core determinants than has previously been done with real-time response data. The findings suggest, first, that only a strong or very strong party identity is an effective barrier to candidate preference change. Second, beyond party identity, ratings of candidates’ issue-specific statements on policy issues show a very strong effect, albeit regardless of personal issue importance. Third, this influence of candidate ratings does not seem to be mediated through changes in valence perceptions. Rather, viewers seem to form a general impression of the candidates which cannot be reduced to performance perceptions regarding policy issues.

The Impact of Political Identity and Outgroup Partisan Media Contact on Intergroup Bias and Unwillingness to Compromise with the Opposing Party: An Intergroup Threat Approach

ABSTRACT Drawing on the assumptions of intergroup threat theory, this study explored the influence of political identity and outgroup partisan media use on intergroup attitudes (intergroup bias and unwillingness to compromise with the opposing party) during the 2018 U.S. mid-term election and how perceptions of threats posed by the opposing party mediated these relationships. We found that political identity was positively associated with intergroup bias and unwillingness to support compromise, whereas outgroup media exposure was negatively associated with such attitudes. Perceptions of realistic threats posed by the opposing party partially mediated the relationships between party identity and intergroup bias, but not between party identity and unwillingness to support compromise. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA IKATAN PRIMORDIAL, IDENTIFIKASI KEPARTAIAN PEMILIH DAN PEMAHAMAN PROGRAM CALON LEGISLATIF DENGAN PILIHAN POLITIK ETNIS TIONGHOA DI DAPIL DKI JAKARTA III DALAM PEMILU LEGISLATIF DPR RI 2

Participation of the Chinese community in Indonesian politics has been significant every year. In fact, not only as voters, currently there are Chinese legislative candidates who have successfully passed to the DPR. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the primordial attachment, party identification, and comprehension of the legislative candidates’ program on the political choices of the Chinese community. This research was conducted using quantitative methods. Data were collected from 250 respondents through a questionnaire with google form which was distributed through social media. The questionnaire contains information needed for research including the choice of the respondent’s party and respondent’s response to statements regarding primordial attachment, party identification, and comprehension of legislative candidates’ program. The results showed that of the three variables, only the comprehension of the legislative candidate’s program had a relationship with Chinese community political choices. These results are in accordance with the theory of voting behavior with a rational approach by Anthony Downs, which assumes that voters in determine their choices will act rationally by considering the pros and cons of choosing a legislative candidate. In other words, the Chinese community who became the respondents in this research were rational because they could calculate the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a candidate by considering the programs offered by the legislative candidate.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA IKATAN PRIMORDIAL, IDENTIFIKASI KEPARTAIAN PEMILIH DAN PEMAHAMAN PROGRAM CALON LEGISLATIF DENGAN PILIHAN POLITIK ETNIS TIONGHOA DI DAPIL DKI JAKARTA III DALAM PEMILU LEGISLATIF DPR RI 2

Participation of the Chinese community in Indonesian politics has been significant every year. In fact, not only as voters, currently there are Chinese legislative candidates who have successfully passed to the DPR. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the primordial attachment, party identification, and comprehension of the legislative candidates’ program on the political choices of the Chinese community. This research was conducted using quantitative methods. Data were collected from 250 respondents through a questionnaire with google form which was distributed through social media. The questionnaire contains information needed for research including the choice of the respondent’s party and respondent’s response to statements regarding primordial attachment, party identification, and comprehension of legislative candidates’ program. The results showed that of the three variables, only the comprehension of the legislative candidate’s program had a relationship with Chinese community political choices. These results are in accordance with the theory of voting behavior with a rational approach by Anthony Downs, which assumes that voters in determine their choices will act rationally by considering the pros and cons of choosing a legislative candidate. In other words, the Chinese community who became the respondents in this research were rational because they could calculate the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a candidate by considering the programs offered by the legislative candidate.

Factors Affecting Youth Voting Preferences in the Philippine Senatorial Election: A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Analysis

The Philippine elections had been characterized by the presence of a weak party system, a low information environment for voters, a history of dynastic rule, and the preponderance of media celebrities in elected political offices. These features amounted to the observation that candidate winnability in the country is discussed often as a “personality versus platform’’ issue, highlighting the importance of candidates’ personal background. This study examines certain variables associated with the voting preferences of young educated voters for the 2019 Senatorial Elections. Using a quantitative approach, this inquiry specifically sought to analyze the extent to which party identification, issue orientation, candidate orientation, and pre-election surveys affect voters’ preferences for candidates. Survey data were obtained from the 210 purposively-sampled youth-voters, and were analyzed using structural equation modelling. On the whole, the results of the study indicate the positive association between the respondents’ party identification on voting preferences, as well as the positive association between pre-election surveys and the respondents’ voting preferences. Both issue orientation and candidate orientation do not appear as significant independent variables The outcome of the study has departed from the prevailing Philippine electoral trend where candidate personality-centered factors have been pivotal for explaining Filipino voting preferences.

2021 State Duma elections: blogs, social networks, and party Identity in the virtual space

This article provides a comprehensive review of the modern Internet practices and virtual platforms in the sphere of politics aimed at promotion of different forms of voting technologies. The authors analyze public strategies of the political parties and candidates in the course of election campaign for the 2021 State Duma elections using the example of electoral constituency of St. Petersburg. The subject of this research is the use of digital means of communication that form virtual identity of the electorate during the 2021 State Duma elections. The object of this research is the representation of party ideologies and civic “symbolic politics”  on the Internet based on the example of the popular video platforms YouTube, Tik-Tok as well as the traditional social networks Vkontakte and Facebook. The goal lies in the analysis of interaction of public actors with the audience (followers) in the course of conducting the electoral campaign. The scientific novelty of this article is substantiated by systematic and structural analysis of the scarce elements of virtual identity of Internet users on the example of electoral strategies of representation. The conclusion is drawn on the growing trends of building the so-called symbolic politics “from the bottom” and emergence of numerous actors that create sociopolitical content in the virtual space. The research methodology employs the content analysis of virtual communication channels, relying on the classical theory of symbolic politics and political identity. This theory can be modified by separate aspects of digitalization of the political subfield, which the modern researchers consider as virtual reality.

Is There an Ideological Asymmetry in the Incumbency Effect? Evidence From U.S. Congressional Elections

The electoral advantage that incumbent legislators enjoy over challengers in the U.S. Congress has been investigated extensively in political science. Very few studies, however, have considered the role of individual differences when it comes to incumbency preferences among voters. Based on theory and research in political psychology, we hypothesized that political conservatives would exhibit stronger preferences than liberals for incumbents over challengers from the same party. Extensive analyses based on more than 150,000 voters from seven election cycles in the United States from 2006 to 2018 support this hypothesis. A significant effect of conservatism on incumbency preferences was observed in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and it was not attributable to Republican Party identification. This ideological asymmetry is consistent with system justification theory and prior research linking conservatism to risk aversion and status quo bias. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Аналіз класичних та сучасних підходів до визначення структури політичної ідентичності

The article is devoted to the analysis of the problem of determining the structural components of political identity. The analysis of the basic approaches and models in which various elements of political identity are allocated is carried out: classical approaches that consider party identity as the basis of political identity; electoral behavioral, communication and self-identification, within which political identity is connected with electoral choice, the nature of interaction in the social environment of voters; crisis identity models in which political identity is formed and regulated under the influence of reference groups; system-hierarchical, within which political identity is determined by value-ideological orientations or dominants in the political ideas of citizens. It is established that the main structural elements of political identity are: socio-status characteristics; assessments of the economic and political situation; party preferences; dispositions on specific political and socio-economic issues; assessments of personal qualities of political leaders; long-term expectations from parties and candidates. The main factors that should be taken into account in the analysis of political identity are determined: socio-cultural (caused by social differentiation of the population); institutional (formal and informal norms, the nature of political institutions); ideological (ideologues that affect the party-ideological identification of the population); socio-demographic (age, sex, region of residence, socio-professional affiliation); cultural and civilizational (value orientations, geopolitical orientations, confessional affiliation); activity-behavioral (political activity and political participation).

The Effects of Politician’s Moral Violations on Voters' Moral Emotions

Existing empirical research on voters’ responses to individual politicians’ moral transgressions pays limited attention to moral emotions, although moral emotions are an integral part of voters’ moral judgment. This study looks at U.S. voters’ discrete moral emotional responses to politician’s moral violations and examines how these discrete moral emotional responses are dependent on voters’ own moral principles and the extent to which they identify with a political party. We report on a 5 × 3 between-subjects experiment where 2026 U.S. respondents reacted to politicians’ violations of one of five moral foundations defined by Moral Foundations Theory. We randomly vary which moral foundation is violated and the partisanship of the politician. While voters’ own moral principles somewhat condition moral emotional responses, we find that voters’ moral emotional responses mostly depend on partisan identification. When voters share party identity with a politician committing a moral violation, they respond with less anger, contempt, disgust and shame than when they do not share party identity. The effect is greater among strong partisans. However, we find limited evidence that specific moral emotions are activated by violations of particular moral foundations, thereby challenging Moral Foundations Theory.

The dark authoritarians: Profiling the personality, emotional style, and authoritarian attitudes of the major American parties

Many are concerned that authoritarianism is increasing across the political spectrum. In the current study, we investigated the extent to which dark personality variables (i.e., psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism) predict both right- and left-wing authoritarianism (RWA and LWA) between Republicans and Democrats. We developed profiles of individuals' political and personality characteristics concomitant with endorsement of authoritarianism. Our findings (n = 527) suggest a complex interaction between dark traits and political views. Using latent profile analysis, we uncovered underlying profiles characterizing distinct groups of individuals across party identification, LWA, RWA, and dark traits. Four latent profiles emerged: (1) a typical Democrat, low in dark traits and higher in LWA; (2) a typical Republican, low in dark traits and higher in RWA; (3) a dark Democrat, high in dark traits and high in both RWA and LWA; (4) a dark Republican, high in dark traits and high in both RWA and LWA. Together, these data suggest that authoritarianism manifests differentially across the political spectrum and is influenced by emotional style.

Party Politics: Dancing in London’s West End, 1780–9

The politics of the 1780s, including the Westminster election of 1784 and Regency Crisis of 1789, has been extensively analysed but critical investigation into the role of balls and dancing has been overlooked in the theatre of electoral and parliamentary politics. Balls hosted by political hostesses of the Opposition, headed by the Prince of Wales, in the eighteenth century formed a substantial extra-Parliamentary space for political dialogue and party cohesion. This article demonstrates that the ballroom was a space in which social dance was used to win political adherents, building and signalling collective party identities, and indicating divisions within society.

A New Electorate? Explaining the Party Preferences of Immigrant-Origin Voters at the 2017 Bundestag Election

AbstractImmigrants now constitute a sizeable and rapidly growing group among many Western countries' electorates, but analyses of their party preferences remain limited. Theoretically, immigrants' party preferences might be explained with both standard electoral theories and immigrant-specific approaches. In this article, we rigorously test both perspectives against each other using the most recent data from Germany. Applying the Michigan model, with its three central explanatory variables – party identification, issue orientations and candidate evaluations – to the party preferences of immigrant-origin and native voters, we find that this standard model can explain both groups well. In contrast, we find no direct effects of the most prominent immigrant-specific variables, and neither do these meaningfully moderate the Michigan variables. However, we find strong formative effects on the presence of political attitudes and beliefs: immigrants with a longer time spent in Germany, a stronger German identity and less experience of discrimination report significantly fewer item non-responses for the Michigan model's main explanatory variables.

IDENTITY FUSION THEORY AND EXTREME PRO-GROUP BEHAVIORS: THE CASE OF DISSIDENT POLITICAL PARTY SUPPORTERS IN TURKEY

This research was conducted with dissident political parties' supporters that were represented in the parliament of Turkey via 2015 parliamentary election. Using the Identity Fusion Theory, the study aims to explore the relations of people with local in-group (supporters of the supported political party) and extended in-group (citizens of the Republic of Turkey); and test the endorsement of extreme behaviors as fighting or sacrificing own life to save in-group members or improve the current conditions of in-group. Accordingly, data was collected from Republican People's Party (CHP; N = 320), Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP; N = 215), and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP; N = 150) supporters. There were significant group differences on study variables based on one's political party identity. Broadly, local in-group based socio-psychological processes were stronger in samples of HDP, MHP, and CHP supporters, respectively whereas extended in-group based socio-psychological processes were stronger in samples of MHP, CHP, and HDP supporters, respectively. Moreover, local in-group and extended in-group based socio-psychological processes were positively associated with each other in samples of CHP, and MHP supporters; but not associated in sample of HDP supporters. Identity fusion with local in-group indicated positive indirect (mediational) associations with endorsement of extreme behaviors for the sake of local in-group and extended in-group in three samples. The research findings complement the related literature, and present a relatively new theoretical approach to explain extreme pro-group behaviors. Keywords Identity fusion theory, extreme pro-group behavior, local in-group, extended in-group

Assessing the impact of party identification in transnational election campaigns: Evidence from the 2019 European Parliament election

Since the introduction of “Spitzenkandidaten” for the presidency of the European Commission, elections to the European Parliament have been characterised by the dynamic between an increasingly transnational election campaign and a national electoral process. However, the implementation of a European election campaign focusing on transnational top candidates remains controversial because it is still unclear to what extent nationally formed political predispositions such as party identification can serve as heuristics for assessing a transnational election campaign. Though TV duels as miniature campaigns directly open up this antagonism, research at the European level remains limited. Drawing on data from a field study consisting of virtualised real-time-response measurement and survey data of 157 participants, we show that expressive party identification as a heuristic is considerably constrained in transnational debates’ reception, while being complemented by instrumental aspects such as candidate orientations and ideological attitudes.

On the Impact of Brazil's Largest Recent Oil Spill on Regional Oceans

In 2019, an oil spill in Brazil, of unknown origin, severely impacted coastal environs with the worst environmental disaster ever recorded in any tropical coastal region globally severely damaging South Pirangi Reef area in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN). Here we discuss acute and chronic impacts including chemical contamination and economic consequences all over the world and show some evidence of the oil spill in this biodiverse area. Moreover, the lapse between the moment of the disaster, and the action to manage it, was hampered by a political agenda coinciding with local and global tragedies that redirected public attention. Meanwhile almost 2 years have passed still without the offending party identification or culpability; and poor communities may continue to absorb its deleterious impacts for decades without consideration or compensation. This disaster occurred during the Brazilian government’s current issues involving extensive environmental mismanagement, resulting in a slow response from an inept system. It is with urgent necessity to spotlight this tragedy in this unique and sensitive reef habitat experiencing the ongoing damaging effects that include socio-economic losses not yet addressed.

Polarization of public trust in scientists between 1978 and 2018 Insights from a cross-decade comparison using interpretable machine learning.

The U.S. public's trust in scientists reached a new high in 2019 despite the collision of science and politics witnessed by the country. This study examines the cross-decade shift in public trust in scientists by analyzing General Social Survey data (1978-2018) using interpretable machine learning algorithms. The results suggest a polarization of public trust as political ideology made an increasingly important contribution to predicting trust over time. Compared with previous decades, many conservatives started to lose trust in scientists completely between 2008 and 2018. Although the marginal importance of political ideology in contributing to trust was greater than that of party identification, it was secondary to that of education and race in 2018. We discuss the practical implications and lessons learned from using machine learning algorithms to examine public opinion trends.

Do Successor Parties Influence Public Attitudes toward the Past? Evidence from Young Democracies

What explains how citizens living in young democracies feel about their authoritarian past? While the impact of autocratic legacies on support for democracy and left–right placement has been thoroughly studied, we know less about the determinants of attitudes toward the past in post-authoritarian democracies. This study relies on survey data collected in Southern and Central European countries ten years after their transitions to democracy in order to test context-dependent variance in the relevance of ideology and party identification on citizen attitudes toward the past. The results show that classical factors such as regime type and mode of transition are not the main determinants of the politicization of attitudes toward the past and that the existence of a strong authoritarian successor party is associated with stronger politicization of the past.

Are Tax Cuts Supporters Self-Interested and/or Partisan? The Case of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

In late 2017, the first unified Republican government in 15 years enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy. Why did so many citizens support a policy that primarily benefited people richer than them? The self-interest hypothesis holds that individuals act upon the position they occupy in the income distribution: richer (poorer) taxpayers should favor (oppose) regressive policy. Associations between income and policy preferences are often inconsistent, however, suggesting that many citizens fail to connect their self-interest to taxation. Indeed, political psychologists have shown compellingly that citizens can be guided by partisan considerations not necessarily aligned with their own interests. This article assesses public support for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Using data from the 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study as well as contemporaneous ANES and VOTER surveys to replicate our analyses, we show that self-interest and partisanship both come into play, but that partisanship matters more. Personal financial considerations, while less influential than party identification, are relevant for two groups of individuals: Republicans and the politically unsophisticated.

Government policies and attitudes to social media use among users in Turkey: The role of awareness of policies, political involvement, online trust, and party identification

Few research studies have examined the impact of government policies toward social media on individuals’ attitudes to social media use, particularly when these policies aim to denounce and control social media platforms, as was the case in Turkey in 2013–2016. A conceptual model, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2005) [1], was proposed to investigate the mediating role of awareness of government policies, degree of political involvement, online trust, and the moderating role of party identification in predicting the attitudes to social media use. Data were collected through a survey of 653 social media users in Istanbul, Turkey (mean age = 31.76, SD = 10.96; 40 % women, 83 % Turkish ethnicity) in September 2015. Using PLS-SEM modelling, the awareness of government policies, the degree of political involvement, and the online trust were found to partially mediate the relationship between the frequency of social media use and the attitudes to social media use for the users of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, while the moderating role of party identification was not significant in this model. The results provide additional support for the role of social context and past behaviors in predicting the attitudes and future intentions in the use of digital communication technologies.