HotPolitics · Politics isn’t cool, it’s hot! Do emotions influence political attitudes?
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2017-09-04 → 2019-09-03
- EU contribution
- €174,865
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-GF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Politics isn’t cool, it’s hot! Do emotions influence political attitudes?
Europeans and Americans are anxious about the number of refugees entering their country; angry about unresponsive political elites; or sad how immigrants are treated. To answer the question whether these emotions influence citizens’ political attitudes, the state-of-the-art relies primarily upon self-reported emotions. Yet, when asked to self-report emotions, people are likely to mix their initial emotion with their cognitive evaluation which leads to an invalid measure of the emotion. In this Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Global Fellowshiop, called HotPolitics, I employ a ground-breaking methodological design by not relying upon self-reported emotions but measuring emotions via the actual physiological responses that citizens experience. Physiological responses are automatic, directed by the autonomous nervous system, when the brain experiences emotion. So, by building upon research in psychology, political science and communication science, I move beyond self-reported measures of emotions and theorize and assess whether emotions – measured using physiological responses – influence citizens’ political attitudes. To answer this question, this project consists of two research objectives: Which citizens experience which physiological responses to political messages (Objective 1)? And do physiological responses to politics influence political attitudes (Objective 2)? These objectives are test using a set of studies that are conducted at Temple University in the United States (outgoing phase) and the University of Amsterdam (incoming phase). This project aims to inform politicians, journalists and citizens. In the contemporary society, many observers claim that emotions play a central role in modern politics but their knowledge how emotions influence politics is limited. HotPolitics will answer this question and I will communicate my findings so that people will learn more about this important issue.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Europeans and Americans are anxious about the number of refugees entering their country; angry about unresponsive political elites; or sad how immigrants are treated. To answer the question whether these emotions influence citizens’ political attitudes, the state-of-the-art relies primarily upon self-reported emotions. Yet, when asked to self-report emotions, people are likely to mix their initial emotion with their cognitive evaluation which leads to an invalid measure of the emotion. In HotPolitics, I employ a ground-breaking methodological design by not relying upon self-reported emotions but measuring emotions via the actual physiological responses that citizens experience. Physiological responses are automatic, directed by the autonomous nervous system, when the brain experiences emotion. I test which citizens experience which physiological responses to political messages in two studies. First, I assess whether citizens experience physiological responses to political messages. Next, I assess whether political sophistication - i.e., political knowledge and political interest - as well as political ideology condition these physiological responses. The second Research Objective addresses whether physiological responses influence political attitudes. I expect that the experience of negative physiological responses triggers the disconfirmation bias which leads citizens to formulate counterarguments and disregard the political message they received. As a consequence their attitudes should become stronger and more extreme. The experience of positive feelings triggers the confirmation bias which makes people likely to accept the message. This should make attitude stronger and more extreme. Building upon research in psychology, political science and communication science, I move beyond self-reported measures of emotions and theorize and assess whether emotions – measured using physiological responses – influence citizens’ political attitudes.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM · AmsterdamCoordinatorNetherlands
- TEMPLE UNIVERSITY OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION · PhiladelphiaUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union