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Issues or Identity? Cognitive Foundations of Voter Choice.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Jenke, L; Huettel, SA
Published in: Trends in cognitive sciences
November 2016

Voter choice is one of the most important problems in political science. The most common models assume that voting is a rational choice based on policy positions (e.g., key issues) and nonpolicy information (e.g., social identity, personality). Though such models explain macroscopic features of elections, they also reveal important anomalies that have been resistant to explanation. We argue for a new approach that builds upon recent research in cognitive science and neuroscience; specifically, we contend that policy positions and social identities do not combine in merely an additive manner, but compete to determine voter preferences. This model not only explains several key anomalies in voter choice, but also suggests new directions for research in both political science and cognitive science.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Trends in cognitive sciences

DOI

EISSN

1879-307X

ISSN

1364-6613

Publication Date

November 2016

Volume

20

Issue

11

Start / End Page

794 / 804

Related Subject Headings

  • Politics
  • Neurosciences
  • Humans
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Cognitive Science
  • Cognition
  • Choice Behavior
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
 

Citation

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Jenke, L., & Huettel, S. A. (2016). Issues or Identity? Cognitive Foundations of Voter Choice. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(11), 794–804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.013
Jenke, Libby, and Scott A. Huettel. “Issues or Identity? Cognitive Foundations of Voter Choice.Trends in Cognitive Sciences 20, no. 11 (November 2016): 794–804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.013.
Jenke L, Huettel SA. Issues or Identity? Cognitive Foundations of Voter Choice. Trends in cognitive sciences. 2016 Nov;20(11):794–804.
Jenke, Libby, and Scott A. Huettel. “Issues or Identity? Cognitive Foundations of Voter Choice.Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 20, no. 11, Nov. 2016, pp. 794–804. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.013.
Jenke L, Huettel SA. Issues or Identity? Cognitive Foundations of Voter Choice. Trends in cognitive sciences. 2016 Nov;20(11):794–804.
Journal cover image

Published In

Trends in cognitive sciences

DOI

EISSN

1879-307X

ISSN

1364-6613

Publication Date

November 2016

Volume

20

Issue

11

Start / End Page

794 / 804

Related Subject Headings

  • Politics
  • Neurosciences
  • Humans
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Cognitive Science
  • Cognition
  • Choice Behavior
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology