Motivating voter turnout by invoking the self - PubMed (original) (raw)

Motivating voter turnout by invoking the self

Christopher J Bryan et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011.

Abstract

Three randomized experiments found that subtle linguistic cues have the power to increase voting and related behavior. The phrasing of survey items was varied to frame voting either as the enactment of a personal identity (e.g., "being a voter") or as simply a behavior (e.g., "voting"). As predicted, the personal-identity phrasing significantly increased interest in registering to vote (experiment 1) and, in two statewide elections in the United States, voter turnout as assessed by official state records (experiments 2 and 3). These results provide evidence that people are continually managing their self-concepts, seeking to assume or affirm valued personal identities. The results further demonstrate how this process can be channeled to motivate important socially relevant behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Percentage voter turnout in the noun and verb conditions in experiments 2 and 3. (A) Experiment 2: California registered voters, 2008 US presidential election. (B) Experiment 3: New Jersey registered voters, 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election.

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