Liñeira, R. , Muñoz, J. and Rico, G. (2021) Inferring party positions across issue dimensions. Party Politics, 27(5), pp. 1031-1043. (doi: 10.1177/1354068820912653)
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Abstract
In this article, we argue that voters use party positions on an issue dimension as a heuristic device to locate parties on other dimensions on which they have less information about. We confirm our argument by fielding two survey experiments in a context with two distinct issue dimensions: the left-right and national dimensions in Catalonia. We find that the position of a hypothetical (but plausible) candidate on a national dimension exerts a great deal of influence on where respondents locate him on the left-right dimension, as well as on a more narrowly-defined socioeconomic dimension, but that the left-right position does not affect the perceived placement on the national divide. This asymmetry can be partly explained by the different nature of these issue domains, and specifically by the distinct ability of the national dimension to activate social group cues that give rise to projection biases. These findings have important implications for our understanding of issue misperceptions and of the strategic choices available to parties in multidimensional policy spaces. The nature of the issue dimension could facilitate why some issue dimensions tend to function as cue givers and others as cue receivers. We discuss the implications of our findings in constraining the strategies available to parties in multidimensional contexts.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Additional Information: | We thank the support from the Spanish Ministerio de Econom´ıa y Competitividad to finance this project (CSO2014-52950-R). Jordi Mun˜oz gratefully acknowledges the financial support by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme. |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Lineira, Dr Robert |
Authors: | Liñeira, R., Muñoz, J., and Rico, G. |
College/School: | College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences |
Journal Name: | Party Politics |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
ISSN: | 1354-0688 |
ISSN (Online): | 1460-3683 |
Published Online: | 02 April 2020 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2020 The Authors |
First Published: | First published in Party Politics 27(5): 1031-1043 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy |
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