Electoral Incentives and Partisan Conflict in Congress
Evidence from Survey Experiments
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6231222 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laurel Harbridge (Northwestern University), N Malhotra (0000-0003-4477-6049, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 494-510 |
| Publication date | 2011-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00517.x |
| OpenAlex | W1834150360 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 113 |
| References cited | 57 |
Does partisan conflict damage citizens’ perceptions of Congress? If so, why has polarization increased in Congress since the 1970s? To address these questions, we unpack the “electoral connection” by exploring the mass public's attitudes toward partisan conflict via two survey experiments in which we manipulated characteristics of members and Congress. We find that party conflict reduces confidence in Congress among citizens across the partisan spectrum. However, there exists heterogeneity by strength of party identification with respect to evaluations of members. Independents and weak partisans are more supportive of members who espouse a bipartisan image, whereas strong partisans are less supportive. People with strong attachments to a political party disavow conflict in the aggregate but approve of individual members behaving in a partisan manner. This pattern helps us understand why members in safely partisan districts engage in partisan conflict even though partisanship damages the collective reputation of the institution
Economics · Incentive · Market economy · Perception · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public relations · Reputation · Survey data collection · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Psychology · Public Administration · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 113 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 8,07 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2026 (15) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 113 |