Infections and Elections: Did an Ebola Outbreak Influence the 2014 US Federal Elections (and if so, How)?

被引：71

作者：

Beall, Alec T. ^{[1
]}

Hofer, Marlise K. ^{[1
]}

Schaller, Mark ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Univ British Columbia, Dept Psychol, 2136 W Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

来源：

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE | 2016年 / 27卷 / 05期

关键词：

political attitudes; conformity; voter behavior; disease threat; Ebola; open data; open materials; BEHAVIORAL IMMUNE-SYSTEM; DISGUST SENSITIVITY; PERCEIVED THREAT; DISEASE; CONSERVATISM; ATTITUDES;

D O I：

10.1177/0956797616628861

中图分类号：

B84 [心理学];

学科分类号：

04 ; 0402 ;

摘要：

In the studies reported here, we conducted longitudinal analyses of preelection polling data to test whether an Ebola outbreak predicted voting intentions preceding the 2014 U.S. federal elections. Analyses were conducted on nationwide polls pertaining to 435 House of Representatives elections and on state-specific polls pertaining to 34 Senate elections. Analyses compared voting intentions before and after the initial Ebola outbreak and assessed correlations between Internet search activity for the term "Ebola" and voting intentions. Results revealed that (a) the psychological salience of Ebola was associated with increased intention to vote for Republican candidates and (b) this effect occurred primarily in states characterized by norms favoring Republican Party candidates (the effect did not occur in states with norms favoring Democratic Party candidates). Ancillary analyses addressed several interpretational issues. Overall, these results suggest that disease outbreaks may influence voter behavior in two psychologically distinct ways: increased inclination to vote for politically conservative candidates and increased inclination to conform to popular opinion.

引用

页码：595 / 605

页数：11

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