Applying experimental methods to the study of information shortcuts in Mexico

Political scientists are increasingly using experiments to study important topics, in large part because this methodology allows the researcher more control in specifying relationships and testing causation. The application of experimental methods to questions of political opinions and behavior is still somewhat limited outside the realm of U.S. politics, and in particular within the realm of Mexican politics. In this note, we first present an overview of the strengths, and weaknesses, of experimental research for the study of political behavior. We then present an experimental study conducted in the summer of 2004, using college students as research subjects, to illustrate the benefits of the method for investigating one particular research topic within Mexican politics: the utility of party labels as heuristic aids for opinion formation and expression. We find evidence that party labels, in particular the PRI, influence individuals' policy preferences and, further, that these effects are more pronounced for more difficult issues. We find only limited evidence that party identification conditions the usefulness of the cues. We hope that our study and discussion convincingly demonstrate that experimental methods are appropriate and useful for the study of Mexican political behavior.