Kinder and Kiewiet. 1981. Sociotropic politics: The American case. British Journal of Political Science 11 (April): 129-161.
In Brief
- Who/what are they challenging? Economic self-interest as determinant of political decisions.
- Question: Does personal economic experiences or sociotropic information influence political decisions?
Does personal economic experiences or sociotropic information influence political decisions
Note: Kinder and Kiewiet are talking about information, NOT motivations. They aren't saying that sociotropic voting is inherently altruistic.
Three sets of hypotheses
| |
H1 |
H2 |
H3 |
| Hypotheses |
Sociotropic info is more influential than personal pocketbooks on political decisions in Congressional elections. |
Sociotropic info is more influential than personal pocketbooks on political decisions in Presidential elections. |
Sociotropic info is more influential than personal pocketbooks on political decisions in partisanship. |
| IV(s) |
Personal pocketbook; sociotropic info |
Personal pocketbook; sociotropic info |
Personal pocketbook; sociotropic info |
| DV |
Political decisions in Congressional elections |
Political decisions in Presidential elections |
Political decisions in degree of partisanship |
| Cases |
Elections in 1972, 1974, 1976 |
Elections in 1972 (between Republican incumbent Nixon and Democratic challenger McGovern) and 1976 (between: Republican incumbent Ford and Democratic challenger Carter) |
Changes in partisanship--same period. |
| Findings |
Sociotropic economic judgements predicted a large portion of variance in voting (personal pocketbook did not). |
Sociotropic economic judgements predicted a large portion of variance in voting (personal pocketbook had a small effect and differed between elections). |
Sociotropic economic judgements predicted a large portion of variance in voting (personal pocketbook did not). |
Comments and Criticism
Were these good presidential elections to test because of Nixon? Ford also wasn't a "normal" incumbent.