Replication Data for: Detecting Voter Understanding of Ideological Labels Using a Conjoint Experiment

Understanding voters’ conception of ideological labels is critical for political behavioral research. Conventional research designs have several limitations, such as endogeneity, insufficient responses to open-ended questions, and inseparability of composite treatment effects. To address these challenges, we propose a conjoint experiment to study the meanings ascribed to ideological labels in terms of policy positions. We also suggest using a mixture model approach to explore heterogeneity in voters’ understandings of ideological labels, as well as the average interpretation of labels. We applied these approaches to conceptions of left–right labels in Japan, where the primary issue of elite-level conflicts has been distinctive compared with other developed countries. We found that, on average, while Japanese voters understand policy-related meanings of “left” and “right,” they primarily associate these labels with security and nationalism, and, secondarily, with social issues; they do not associate these labels with economic issues. Voters’ understandings partly depend on their birth cohort, but observed patterns do not necessarily coincide with what many researchers would predict regarding generational differences in Japanese politics. Mixture model results suggest that some individuals tend to associate left–right labels with security and nationalism policies, while others link them to social policies. Over one-third of respondents seemed to barely understand the usage of left–right labels in policy positions. Our study improves upon existing methods for measuring voter understanding of ideological labels, and reconfirm the global diversity of meanings associated with left–right labels.

探析选民对意识形态标签的认知，对于政治行为研究而言至关重要。传统研究设计存在若干局限，例如内生性问题、开放式问题应答不足，以及复合处理效应无法拆分等。为应对上述挑战，本研究提出采用联合实验（conjoint experiment），基于政策立场探析意识形态标签被赋予的内涵。此外，本研究建议采用混合模型（mixture model）方法，探究选民对意识形态标签认知的异质性，以及选民对标签的平均解读。我们将上述方法应用于日本民众对左右标签的认知研究——日本精英层面冲突的核心议题与其他发达国家存在显著差异。研究结果显示，平均而言，尽管日本选民能够理解“左”“右”标签与政策相关的内涵，但他们主要将这些标签与安全及民族主义议题挂钩，其次关联社会议题，并未将其与经济议题相联系。选民的认知在一定程度上取决于其出生队列，但观测到的模式未必契合诸多研究者针对日本政治代际差异所提出的预测。混合模型分析结果表明，部分受访者倾向于将左右标签与安全及民族主义政策挂钩，而另有部分受访者则将其与社会政策相关联。超过三分之一的受访者似乎几乎无法理解左右标签在政策立场中的使用逻辑。本研究改进了现有测量选民意识形态标签认知的方法，并再次证实了左右标签所承载内涵的全球多样性。