Candidate Preferences Research Articles

Reducing Racial Asymmetries in the Survey Overestimation of Voter Turnout

Abstract Research has consistently demonstrated that Black respondents are more likely than their White counterparts to overstate their plans or previous decisions to vote. We propose that by using a single question regarding turnout intention and candidate preference (rather than the typical approach of using two separate questions), survey researchers can reduce these racial asymmetries. The reason, we suggest, is that doing so encourages Black respondents to consider the turnout question through the lens of candidates and parties, rather than as a civic responsibility they have toward other Black Americans, which therefore mitigates the social desirability bias that leads to overestimation. We evaluate this argument using a survey experiment that randomly asks a control group of survey respondents to answer two voting questions—one about turnout and one about vote choice—and asks the other half of the sample, the treatment group, a single question that combines the two. Using original data from a nationally representative survey, we find that using the single turnout/preference question reduces the racial asymmetry in turnout overestimation substantially. We further observe that the decrease is concentrated among respondents with relatively high levels of campaign indifference and especially racial civic consciousness, a condition that is much more common among Black respondents than among White respondents. We believe these findings are particularly relevant to election scholars and campaign professionals, given their focus on understanding the thought processes of survey respondents and prospective voters, as well as improving the validity of self-reports in survey research.

The populist impulse: Cognitive reflection, populist attitudes and candidate preferences

In this paper, I examine cognitive reflection, i.e., the ability to suppress one's spontaneous intuition to engage in higher-level analytical thinking, as a predictor of populist attitudes and candidate preferences. I develop a set of hypotheses which link the ideological content of populism to lower levels of cognitive reflection. I test these hypotheses with an original survey conducted on a representative sample of the UK population, in which respondents were asked to complete a cognitive reflection test, answer questions from a scale of populist attitudes, and respond to a conjoint experiment of hypothetical parliamentary candidates whose populist ideology is randomly attributed. I find that populist attitudes are negatively associated with cognitive reflection (p < 0.05). Furthermore, I also find suggestive evidence that anti-elite and conflict-seeking conjoint attributes interact negatively with respondent-level cognitive reflection on the formation of conjoint preferences (p < 0.1). However, I find no such interaction with respect to people centric attributes.

Effects of threat sensitivity and issue concern on candidate preference

ABSTRACT There is extensive debate in the literature over the link between threat and political attitudes – while some find evidence that threat and threat sensitivity lead to political conservatism, others find that the effect of threat is more contextual. We contribute to this debate by theorizing that the link between threat and politics is based on both individual differences and political rhetoric. First, sensitivity about personal threats predicts greater concern about political threats as well. This issue concern may in turn be directed toward either conservatism or liberalism through political rhetoric and elite positioning. Using one observational and one experimental survey of American adults conducted in 2018 and 2023, we find consistent evidence that personal threat sensitivity increases issue concern regardless of the specific issue or its partisan ownership, and independent of partisanship or ideology. This increased issue concern does not produce a uniformly conservative shift – rather, an increase in concern about “Republican” issues leads to greater preference for Republican candidates, and vice versa for Democrats. The relationship between threat sensitivity and political attitudes is thus best understood as a contextual one.

Beyond the resume: HR students’ evaluations of interview performances by first and second language speakers

PurposeHigh-stakes decision-makers, including human resource (HR) professionals, often exhibit accent biases against second language speakers in professional evaluations. We extend this work by investigating how HR students evaluate simulated job interview performances in English by first and second language speakers of English.Design/methodology/approachEighty HR students from Calgary and Montreal evaluated the employability of first language (L1) Arabic, English, and Tagalog candidates applying for two positions (nurse, teacher) at four points in the interview (after reading the applicant’s resume, hearing their self-introduction, and listening to each of two responses to interview questions). Candidates’ responses additionally varied in the extent to which they meaningfully answered the interview questions.FindingsStudents from both cities provided similar evaluations, employability ratings were similar for both advertised positions, and high-quality responses elicited consistently high ratings while evaluations for low-quality responses declined over time. All speakers were evaluated similarly based on their resumes and self-introductions, regardless of their language background. However, evaluations diverged for interview responses, where L1 Arabic and Tagalog speakers were considered more employable than L1 English speakers. Importantly, students’ preference for L1 Arabic and Tagalog candidates over L1 English candidates was magnified when those candidates provided low-quality interview responses.Originality/valueResults suggest that even in the absence of dedicated equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training focusing on language and accent bias, HR students may be aware of second language speakers’ potential disadvantages in the workplace, rewarding them in the current evaluations. Findings also highlight the potential influence of contextual factors on HR students’ decision-making.

Investigating visual engagement of Generation Z with presidential campaign infographics through Eye-Tracking technology

This study was designed to investigate the visual engagement of Generation Z with Indonesian presidential election campaign infographics utilizing eye-tracking technology. Notably, Generation Z forms a significant segment of first-time voters in the 2024 General Election and plays an integral role in political decision-making processes. Despite their pivotal role, a marked disengagement with political activities among this demographic presents significant challenges. Prior research has demonstrated that visual attention is modulated by experiential factors and personal biases. Consequently, this investigation seeks to elucidate the impact of infographics on the visual attention of participants with pre-established preferences for presidential candidates. Employing eye-tracking technology facilitated an objective assessment of the participants' subconscious reactions to the infographics. This study analyzed the distribution of visual attention across six defined Regions of Interest (ROI) among 60 participants. The findings reveal that 50% of the participants directed their gaze predominantly at the names of the candidate pairs, 27% at the image of the presidential candidate, 15% at quotes, 5% at the image of the vice-presidential candidate, 2% at the candidate number, and 1% at the vision statement. Additionally, it was observed that 55% of the participants consistently fixated on the infographics that corresponded to their preferred candidate pair from the onset to the conclusion of the recording, while 45% demonstrated variability in their viewing patterns. These insights afford valuable implications for political strategists aiming to forge more effective communication strategies with Generation Z, thereby enhancing their engagement in the political discourse, particularly in the context of general elections.

Enjoyment and Appreciation of Political Advertisements: How voters’ Issue Involvement and Congruence with the Sponsor Influence Their Responses and Decisions

This study investigates how voters derive pleasure and meaning from political advertisements by conducting a 3 (sponsorship) × 2 (issue) factorial experiment. It examines the impact of the interaction of issue involvement and congruence between sponsorship and voters’ party affiliation on enjoyment and appreciation of the advertisement. Voters’ real-time emotions (determined by their facial expression) and their attention to the screen (captured via eye-tracking sensor) were measured. Voters’ responses to advertisement were examined in association with their subsequent candidate preference. Advertisements by congruent sponsors are enjoyed and appreciated more than those by incongruent sponsors. Negative and mixed emotions and time spent on the screen are more pronounced among those with higher issue involvement when viewing congruent advertisements. Only enjoyment, appreciation, and expression of positive emotions during advertisement exposure are positively associated with voting decision.

Is Some Politics Still Local? Voter Preferences for Local Candidates

Is Some Politics Still Local? Voter Preferences for Local Candidates

Assessment of Digital Campaign Strategies Adopted by Presidential Candidates in the 2023 Nigerian Elections

The ascendancy of digital technologies has revolutionised political communication strategies, with presidential contenders increasingly exploiting online platforms to interact with electorates. This investigation aims to evaluate the efficacy and implications of digital campaign strategies adopted by presidential candidates during the 2023 Nigerian Elections. Using survey research methodology, with questionnaires as the primary data collection instrument, this inquiry endeavours to evaluate the impact of social media campaigns on voter perceptions, engagement, and ultimately, electoral behaviour. Drawing on Agenda Setting, Uses and Gratification, and Conspiracy Theories, the study identifies Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp as the preferred social media platforms among respondents for receiving political communications. Findings suggest that social media notably influenced respondents' preferences for candidates during the 2023 presidential election, augmenting the popularity of Tinubu, Obi, and Atiku. The research emphasises that social media content pertaining to these candidates directly shaped respondents' voting choices. Moreover, the research affirms that social media usage profoundly influences election campaigns in Nigeria, advocating, among other measures, for Nigerian political stakeholders to persist in using social media to engage with electorates

An Efficient Blockchain Enabled Score Voting with Face Recognition

The security considerations of the votes are based on blockchain technology using cryptographic hashes to secure end-to-end verification. To this end, a successful vote cast is considered as a transaction within the blockchain of the voting application. Therefore, a vote cast is added as a new block (after successful mining) in the blockchain as well as being recorded in data tables at the backend of the database. The system ensures only one-person, one-vote (democracy) property of voting systems. This is achieved by using the voter’s unique face image, which is matched at the beginning of every voting attempt to prevent double voting. The Face Recognition is the study of physical or behavioral characteristics of human being used for the identification of person. So implement real time authentication system using face biometrics for authorized the person for online voting system. This work claims to score voting method and data management challenges in blockchain and provides an improved manifestation of the electronic voting process. Score-based voting methods, also known as range voting or rated voting, are electoral systems where voters are allowed to express their preferences for candidates or options by assigning numerical scores to them. Unlike traditional voting methods where voters choose a single candidate, score-based systems enable voters to provide a more nuanced and detailed assessment of their preferences. It is important here to note that cryptographic hash for a voter is the unique hash of voter by which voter is known in the blockchain. This property facilitates achieving verifiability of the overall voting process. Furthermore, this id is hidden and no one can view it even a system operator cannot view this hash therefore achieving privacy of individual voters.

CareerBoost: Revolutionizing the Job Search with Resume Enhancement and Tailored Recommendations

The Resume Enhancer and Job Recommendation System is designed to meet the unique challenges faced by job seekers in today's dynamic job market. Leveraging cutting-edge natural language processing (NLP) techniques, the present system provides a tailored solution to streamline the job search process. The present Resume Enhancer component utilizes advanced NLP algorithms to analyse resumes and job descriptions, generating comprehensive eligibility scores and targeted skill recommendations. This ensures that candidates' resumes are optimized to effectively showcase their qualifications and expertise to potential employers. The present Job Recommendation feature delivers personalized job listings tailored to each user's selected roles or career aspirations. The authors implemented machine learning algorithms such as the Random Forest Classifier and K-means Clustering, the system matches candidate preferences and qualifications with relevant job opportunities, increasing the likelihood of finding the perfect fit. Overall, the Resume Enhancer and Job Recommendation System serves as a valuable tool for job seekers, empowering them to navigate the complexities of the modern job market with confidence. With its user-centric approach and advanced technology, the present system enhances employability and facilitates career growth for individuals at every stage of their professional journey.

Voter emotional responses and voting behaviour in the 2020 US presidential election

ABSTRACT Political polarisation in the United States offers opportunities to explore how beliefs about candidates – that they could save or destroy American society – impact people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Participants forecast their future emotional responses to the contentious 2020 U.S. presidential election, and reported their actual responses after the election outcome. Stronger beliefs about candidates were associated with forecasts of greater emotion in response to the election, but the strength of this relationship differed based on candidate preference. Trump supporters’ forecast happiness more strongly related to beliefs that their candidate would save society than for Biden supporters. Biden supporters’ forecast anger and fear were more strongly related to beliefs that Trump would destroy society than vice versa. These forecasts mattered: predictions of lower happiness and greater anger if the non-preferred candidate won predicted voting, with Biden supporters voting more than Trump supporters. Generally, participants forecast more emotion than they experienced, but beliefs altered this tendency. Stronger beliefs predicted experiencing more happiness or more anger and fear about the election outcome than had been forecast. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms through which political polarisation and rhetoric can influence voting behaviour.

Centripetalism in Consociational Democracy: The Multiple Proportional Vote and the Belgian Case

AbstractBelgium illustrates that using consociational institutions in divided societies may ensure a peaceful political environment, but it fails in reducing its centrifugal tendencies. As communitarian issues threaten to paralyse the political debate, preserving the efficiency of the state will require adding centripetal incentives to the consociational framework. However, the solution usually proposed for this purpose –the creation of a federal constituency– would be insufficient and would raise legitimacy problems analogous to those occurred in Bosnia, the Swiss Canton of Berne or Cyprus. Instead, this paper advocates the adoption of a new electoral system: the Multiple Proportional Vote (MPV). MPV can maintain the consociational goal of including the different communities in the parliament, as well as to strengthen the centripetal trends towards moderation. Indeed, electors of every group are allowed to cast their preferences for candidates of the other communities. As such, MPV suggests that consociationalism and its main theoretical alternative, centripetalism, are far from mutually exclusive.

Why Do Voters Prefer Local Candidates? Evidence from a Danish Conjoint Survey Experiment

AbstractPolitical candidates enjoy a well-documented electoral advantage near their place of residence. But knowing that voters prefer candidates who live nearby does not explain why this is the case. What inferences do voters make about local candidates that make them so universally attractive? In this study, I distinguish two well-established theoretical explanations in a conjoint experiment conducted in Denmark. Do people prefer local candidates because of in-group favoritism, or do voters prefer local candidates because they expect them to favor their local area once in office? By independently varying signals of candidates’ (1) behavioral localism and (2) symbolic localism, I estimate the importance of each for voters’ preferences for local candidates. I find that voters’ preference for candidates who live nearby is driven in part by a preference for candidates who spend most of their time looking out for voters’ local interests. While I also find that voters prefer candidates who signal their commitment to the local in-group, these preferences appear to be unrelated to voters’ preference for candidates who live locally. Thus, I find that voters seem to prefer local candidates because of their behavioral localism, while I find no evidence that voters prefer local candidates because of their symbolic localism.

The role of sources of fake political news in corrective intentions on Facebook: investigating a moderated mediating model of perceived news fakeness and candidate preference in the 2022 Korean presidential election

The role of sources of fake political news in corrective intentions on Facebook: investigating a moderated mediating model of perceived news fakeness and candidate preference in the 2022 Korean presidential election

Fertility Fails to Predict Voter Preference for the 2020 Election: A Pre-Registered Replication of Navarrete et al. (2010).

As part of the Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE) program, the present study reassesses the claim made in Navarrete et al. (2010) Study 1, that women's voter preference for male candidates who demonstrate cues of strong genetic fitness increases across the reproductive cycle as a function of conception risk. We report an attempt to conceptually replicate these findings, modifying the outcome variables for voter preference to reflect the 2020 election rather than the 2008 election, while maintaining fidelity to the original study by including Barack Obama as a candidate. Contrary to the original findings, conception risk did not predict greater voter support for Obama as a younger, more attractive alternative to Donald J. Trump, nor was conception risk a significant factor in other matchups we presented to participants. Candidate intelligence and participant psychopathy scores on the Dark Triad were found to be factors in preference for Obama/Biden or Trump, respectively. We discuss these results in the context of evolutionary and political psychology, suggesting the need for further research that takes political factors into account.

Racial Bias and U.S. Presidential Candidate Preference

Abstract Much research has suggested that Republican candidates in U.S. presidential elections benefit from voter bias against non-White groups. The present study supplements this research by including in the analysis bias against Whites. Estimates from the American National Election Studies 2020 Time Series Study indicated that a nontrivial percentage of the U.S. population has a bias that disfavors Whites, with this bias more prevalent among Democrats than Republicans. Further analyses estimated the extent to which the type of voter racial bias that favors Republican presidential candidates offsets the type of voter racial bias that favors Democratic presidential candidates. Estimates for the 2020 U.S. presidential election indicated that the two-party vote share for Donald Trump was higher among voters who rated Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians/Asian-Americans equal to each other on 0-to-100 feeling thermometers than among the full population of two-party voters, suggesting that Donald Trump was disadvantaged on net by the electorate including racially biased voters. These results call into question research that has used an unrepresentative set of racial attitudes to suggest that, in recent U.S. presidential elections, only Republican candidates have benefitted from racial bias among the electorate.

Giving to the Extreme? Experimental Evidence on Donor Response to Candidate and District Characteristics

Abstract How does candidate ideology affect donors' contribution decisions in U.S. House elections? Studies of donor motivations have struggled with confounding of candidate, donor, and district characteristics in observational data and the difficulty of assessing trade-offs in surveys. We investigate how these factors affect contribution decisions using experimental vignettes administered to 7,000 verified midterm donors. While ideological congruence influences donors' likelihood of contributing to a candidate, district competitiveness and opponent extremity are equally important. Moreover, the response to ideology is asymmetric and heterogeneous: donors penalize more moderate candidates five times more heavily than more extreme candidates, with the most extreme donors exhibiting the greatest preference for candidates even more extreme than themselves. Republicans also exhibit a greater relative preference for extremism than Democrats, although partisan differences are smaller than differences by donor extremism. Our findings suggest that strategic considerations matter, and donors incentivize candidate extremism even more than previously thought.

Artificial intelligence in employee recruitment

AbstractThe primary goal of this research is to investigate candidate attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI)‐supported chatbots as an alternative to traditional recruitment interviews, aiming to understand the potential impact of AI‐assisted processes on the employee selection landscape. To systematically evaluate various factors and their relative importance in shaping candidate preferences, this study employed the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as a decision‐making tool. The AHP approach facilitated the analysis of findings based on the sum of rankings assigned by evaluators to determine the relative significance of different factors. Additionally, a pairwise comparison questionnaire was utilized to assess the application of AI interview methodology within the research framework. This ensured a comprehensive understanding of its potential advantages and drawbacks. By comparing candidates' interview experiences across four main categories—performance anxiety, environmental compliance, self‐trust, and comfort level—the study results reveal that AI‐assisted interviews offer a more advantageous experience for candidates. This suggests that AI technology can play a significant role in enhancing the recruitment process. The research highlights ease of use and suitability for job interviews as critical factors influencing companies' adoption of AI interview technology. Furthermore, it sheds light on the aspects that organizations need to consider when evaluating and implementing AI‐driven solutions in their recruitment strategies.

The Political Behavior of the Batulanteh Highlands Community in the Regional Head Election of Sumbawa Regency in 2020

his research aims to determine the political behavior of voters and the factors behind them choosing the people of the Batulanteh highlands in the 2020 Sumbawa Regency regional elections. This is interesting to research becauseeach voter has their own reasons and interests in determining political choices, so that candidates can determine strategy in campaigning to get results that are in line with the target. This study is qualitative research. The results of the research showthat the tendency for political behavior to vote for the people of the Batulanteh highlands tends to be dominated by aspects of the figure and campaign issues as well as the candidate's work program. This is closely related to the real condition of Batulanteh which is still very underdeveloped and far from development aspects. The factors behind the political behavior of Batulanteh Community voters are the voter's social circle as a variable that is outside the voter but has an influence in determining individual political choices. Individual voters' decisions are strongly influenced by group cohesion processes, not purely individual decisions and actions. This creates a "threat" if an individual in a group makes a decision that is different from the group's decision, including the decision not to vote. Then there are patron client relationships, money politics, and an assessment of regional socio-economic conditions. Of the various aspects above, the most determining aspect is money politics. Meanwhile, thepatron-client aspect is relative, one-off, and not literate. The existence of money politics is considered the most determinant in influencing a person's voting decisions. This is caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, making money politics easier to accept andincreasing nominal vote buying. Money politics succeeded in influencing voting behavior because candidates used personal loyalist strategies to influence voters through their social environment. The use of money politics is an effort to strengthen voters'preferences for certain candidates and strengthen the confidence of regional head candidates to be able to get guaranteed voter compliance

Exploring practices that impact women’s career advancement within the workplace: a qualitative approach

PurposeThis study aims to explore organizational factors that impact women’s career advancement. Knowledge of organizational practices that promote or obstruct women’s career progress is vital for women, firms and governments.Design/methodology/approachA total of 237 women participated in the study from the service sector in Johannesburg (South Africa). Participants were selected using a convenient sampling approach. Researchers used a questionnaire, consisting of demographic and open-ended questions, to gather data. Comments were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach.FindingsFindings reveal that prioritizing women, offering skills development opportunities, providing growth opportunities, assisting women in managing their careers, offering mentorship and having work-family support initiatives are practices that promote women’s career advancement. Conversely, practices that foster stagnation of women’s careers, distrust in women’s leadership abilities, preference for external candidates, people–related malpractices, male domination/preference, lack of role models and work-family balance support, hamper women’s career advancement.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study will contribute to women’s empowerment. Organizations should provide a conducive atmosphere by instituting practices that promote their female employees' career advancement. Firms also should intentionally take practical steps to address practices that impede women’s career progression. The results of this study will also help the government to design appropriate policies that will promote the career progression of women employees.Originality/valueThis study presents findings from an analysis of qualitative data collected from 237 women to provide insight into the experiences of women working within the service industry in Johannesburg, South Africa.