Changing Policy With Words
How Persuasive Words in Election Pledges Influence Voters’ Beliefs About Policies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12748606 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elina Lindgren (0000-0002-9032-1347, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 425-449 |
| Publication date | 2017-11-16 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mass Communication & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1520-5436 • E-ISSN: 1532-7825 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/15205436.2017.1406522 |
| OpenAlex | W2768704406 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 32 |
Parties often frame their election pledges with value-laden words such as freedom and equality, and it is well known that this can influence voters’ support for policies. However, research is not conclusive about why as of yet. This article adds to common explanations of value-framing effects by proposing a linguistic explanation to how citizens are influenced by value words in election pledges. Drawing on what linguistic theory says about persuasive words, this article hypothesizes that value-laden words elicit different beliefs about policy content, beyond what has actually been pledged. To support this assertion, a survey experiment (N = 739) shows that such words do provoke different beliefs about policies and that this, in turn, influences the extent to which individuals support the policies. The findings have implications for representative democracy, as they indicate that voters’ outspoken support for policy pledges do not necessarily reflect their true policy preferences
Assertion · Democracy · Economics · Framing (construction · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Value (mathematics · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
Fundamentals of Critical Argumentation
Studies in Public Opinion
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
Election Promises, Party Behaviour and Voter Perceptions
The Mediating Role of Emotions
Political Ideology
The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology
Campaigning for Hearts and Minds
Is Anyone Responsible?
Economic Individualism, Humanitarianism, and Welfare Reform
Social Media and Political Disengagement Among Young Adults
Framing Persuasive Appeals
Framing Emotional Response
Issue Framing Effects on Belief Importance and Opinion
Values-based Political Messages and Persuasion
More Than Weighting Cognitive Importance
Moral Concerns and Policy Attitudes
Toward a Psychology of Framing Effects
Values, Frames, and Persuasion in Presidential Nomination Campaigns
Promising ever more
Who emphasizes and who blurs? Party strategies in multidimensional competition
Framing Theory
Framing
Rethinking Representation
Value Resonance and Value Framing Effects on Voting Intentions in Direct-Democratic Campaigns
What we hide in words
| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2022 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |