Voting behavior is unaffected by subtle linguistic cues
Evidence from a psychologically authentic replication
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13109399 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alan S Gerber (0000-0002-8133-3995, Yale University), Gregory A Huber (0000-0001-6804-8148, Yale University, corresponding author), Albert H Fang (0000-0001-6265-5967, Film Independent) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 380-394 |
| Publication date | 2020-11-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Behavioural Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2398-063X • E-ISSN: 2398-0648 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/bpp.2020.57 |
| OpenAlex | W3108454043 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 3 |
Do small wording differences in message-based behavioral interventions have outsized effects on behavior? An influential initial study, examining this question in the domain of political behavior using two small-scale field experiments, argues that subtle linguistic cues in voter mobilization messages describing someone as a voter (noun) instead of one who votes (verb) dramatically increases turnout rates by activating a person's social identity as a voter. Two subsequent large-scale replication field experiments challenged this claim, finding no effect even in electorally competitive settings. However, these experiments may not have reproduced the psychological context needed to motivate behavioral change because they did not occur in highly competitive and highly salient electoral contexts. Addressing this major criticism, we conduct a large-scale, preregistered replication field experiment in the 2016 presidential election. We find no evidence that noun wording increases turnout compared to verb wording in this highly salient electoral context, even in competitive states
Cognitive psychology · Context (archaeology · Linguistics · Noun · Political science · Politics · Replication (statistics · Salient · Scale (ratio · Turnout · Verb · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |