Replication Data for: How Group Appeals Shape Group-Party Linkages in Two Political Systems

To attract voters, politicians can appeal to their interests and attitudes through policies. They can also appeal to their identities by supplying candidates that belong to their social group or by sending messages that directly target the group. While there is an advanced literature on the role of policy appeals, much less is known about the effects of other appeals, whether social or group-based, or how they work. We conduct a conjoint experiment in Britain and Norway where we estimate the effects of all three types of appeals, with an emphasis on appeals to social class. We find that identity appeals have strong effects, even rivalling those of our policy appeals. In both countries, the effects are driven by appeals that emphasize out-group conflict rather than in-group solidarity. Our findings thus show, in line with the literature on affective polarization, that out-group conflict plays a large role in attracting voters.

为争取选民支持，政客可通过契合选民利益与态度的政策诉求（policy appeals）进行游说，亦可通过推举隶属于目标选民社会群体的候选人，或发布直接针对该群体的讯息，唤起选民的身份认同。现有研究已就政策诉求的作用形成了丰硕的学术成果，但对于其他类型的诉求——无论是基于社会身份还是群体属性的诉求——其效应与作用机制仍鲜有探讨。本研究在英国与挪威开展联合实验（conjoint experiment），对三类诉求的效应进行量化评估，重点聚焦于社会阶层诉求。研究结果显示，身份诉求的效应十分显著，甚至可与政策诉求相匹敌。在两个研究样本国中，此类效应均由强调外群体冲突（out-group conflict）而非内群体团结（in-group solidarity）的诉求所驱动。结合情感极化（affective polarization）领域的相关研究文献，本研究结果证实，外群体冲突在吸引选民支持的过程中扮演着关键角色。