The emotional underpinning of partisanship and vote choice

Silvia Mari, Martin Rosema

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    Abstract

    This paper examines the impact of emotions on vote choice and the mediating role of partisanship. According to our model, emotional responses towards political parties and their leaders are key determinants of partisanship, which in turn is the primary determinant of vote choice. In this study we employ a novel series of items to measure partisanship in terms of two components: attitudes towards individual parties (party evaluations) and partisan self-identity (party identification). Analyses using structural equation modeling, which are based on two samples of Italian and Dutch citizens, indicate that emotions have distinct effects on both components of partisanship, which in turn both influence vote choice. Furthermore, the analyses show that the new items are superior to the traditional items used to measure partisanship in election surveys. We conclude by discussing the implications of this study for modelling electoral choice and measurement of its key concepts.
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication statusPublished - 14 Jul 2009
    Event31st ISPP Annual Scientific Meeting 2008 - Paris, France
    Duration: 9 Jul 200812 Jul 2008
    Conference number: 31

    Conference

    Conference31st ISPP Annual Scientific Meeting 2008
    Country/TerritoryFrance
    CityParis
    Period9/07/0812/07/08

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