Suchergebnisse

ObjectiveRecent research suggests that many American voters use candidate accents as an evaluative heuristic. We build on this research by examining whether this effect is conditional on the partisan positions of the candidate and across participant party identification.MethodsWe designed an experiment using actors to record candidate stump speeches, manipulating the accent of the candidate and the partisan issue position of the candidate.ResultsDemocrats and Republicans in our sample were more likely to believe candidates with southern accents were Republican as opposed Democrat, and were also more likely to negatively evaluate candidates with a southern accent. This was true in both instances regardless of whether the candidate espoused a typical Democratic or Republican issue position. Democrats' judgments of candidates with southern accents, though, were harsher than those of Republicans and, again, this was the case across the partisan positioning of the candidate. Finally, both Democrats and Republicans in our pool were less likely to say they would vote for the candidate with a southern accent regardless of the partisan position of the candidate.ConclusionOur results confirm that accent is a heuristic and add nuance to our understanding of how partisanship shapes this effect.

ObjectiveResearch suggests that voters rely on cognitive heuristics to simplify the evaluative process. Such heuristics include candidate race and other visible characteristics. We set out to test whether Americans use Latino ethnicity as a heuristic to evaluate candidates, and whether the darkness of Latino candidates' skin tone influences these judgments. Finally, we examine individual‐level partisan differences in the application of these heuristics.MethodsWe leverage a large sample posttest experimental design that manipulates candidate ethnicity and skin tone.ResultsSome respondents in our sample clearly use ethnicity as a heuristic but skin tone does not seem to matter. Democrats evaluated Latino candidates, regardless of skin tone, more positively than they did a white candidate. Republicans seemed immune to ethnic cues or skin tone.ConclusionThese results shed light on how Latino ethnicity shapes voter preferences, but these tests need to be extended to cross‐sectional data.

Introduction / Brian Calfano and Marcus Marktanner --. - The Arab popular uprisings / Brian Calano and Emile Sahliyeh --. - Islam and interpretive ingenuities / Brian Calfano and Lynne Alisé Lofftus --. - Parties as political forces in the Maghreb / Abdelhak Azzouzi --. - How green is the spring? Comparing the Iranian and the Arab pro-democracy movements / Mahmoud Sadri and Nader Hashemi --. - Oil and MENA democratization / Mehmet Gurses --. - Does regime type make a difference for MENA reform? / Todd Spinks, Brian Calfano, and Emile Sahliyeh --. - Elite-led consideration of the role of women in MENA politics : some initial experimental findings / Brian Calfano, Marcus Marktanner, and Christina Michelmore --. - Transmitting reform? The media's effect on MENA democracy and human rights / Brian Calfano and Emile Sahliyeh --. - MENA and the Internet : technology and the democratic divide / Jason Gainous and Kevin Wagner --. - Concluding observations and recommendations / Brian Calfano