Mark R. Joslyn

Cognitive Dissonance and Post‐Decision Attitude Change in Six Presidential Elections

Data from the National Election Studies were examined in an effort to isolate cognitive dissonance of two kinds: dissonance arising from a behavioral commitment in the form of voting, and dissonance arising from inconsistencies associated with having supported the losing candidate. Feeling thermometer ratings of the two principal presidential candidates obtained before and immediately after six elections (1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996) were analyzed. Regression estimates supported a dissonance reduction explanation of observed attitude changes. Voters, as compared to nonvoters, tended to increase the evaluative distance between candidates after an election, whereas supporters of the losing candidate were more likely than supporters of the winning candidate to decrease such evaluative distances. An additional examination of voters yielded results consistent with dissonance theory: After the election, respondents reporting favorable evaluations of both candidates (a difficult choice) tended to spread comparative candidate evaluations compared to respondents who were favorable toward only one candidate (an easy choice). The results both support and cast doubt on prior studies.

Attributions and the Regulation of Marriage: Considering the Parallels Between Race and Homosexuality

Few would dispute that religion has played a fundamental role in shaping our understanding of human relationships, including marriage, and what types of relationships are permitted. However, science, especially biology, has also played an important role in government regulation of marriage (Bittles and Neel 1994 ; Ottenheimer 1990 ; Dupuis 2002 ; Ellison 2004 ; Strasser 2002 ). A cursory overview of government regulations of marriage reveals laws that establish age requirements, necessitate testing for diseases, ban nuptials between individuals with biological relations, set limits on the number of spouses, and ban interracial marriage (miscegenation), among other things (Barlow and Probert 2004 ; Bratt 1984 ; Cott 2000 ; Micklos and Carlson 2000 ; Moran 2001 ; Ottenheimer 1990 ; Scott 2000 ). Certainly some of these policies reflect a religious based morality, but some, such as those that ban marriages between individuals within a family, also reflect a biological understanding of potential problems associated with the offspring of these couples (Bratt 1984 ; Ottenheimer 1990 ; Cott 2000 ; Micklos and Carlson 2000 ; St. Jean 1998 ; Scott 2000 ; Stoddard 2003 ).

The Extensiveness of Group Membership and Social Capital: The Impact on Political Tolerance Attitudes

This article examines the relationship between membership in voluntary associations and political tolerance attitudes. Though the extensive literature on social capital posits a relationship between group involvement and political tolerance, empirical scrutiny of this proposition has yet to emerge. Specifically, we hypothesize that group membership-its extensiveness across a variety of different associational sectors, and the type of group affiliation-should be associated with variation in political tolerance. The 1972-1994 cumulative files for the General Social Surveys and the 1990 Citizen Participation Survey provide the data to test our hypotheses. The primary findings indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between the extensiveness of group membership and political tolerance. Moreover, this association grows stronger with each additional membership. Finally, after controlling for the extensiveness of group memberships, we find that membership in several specific types of groups affects political tolerance. Overall, results strongly support the social capital proposition linking group membership to political tolerance.

Minority Group Interests and Political Representation: Gay Elected Officials in the Policy Process

Of key importance to groups in a democracy is the political representation of their interests in the policy process. The most obvious strategy of groups to achieve representation is to elect officials that identify with group interests. Our research examines the political representation of lesbian and gay interests, exploring the influence of openly gay elected officials on domestic partner policies. Based on the literature, we select and operationalize variables that may influence policy adoption. Analysis on a dataset of 270 localities suggests that elected gay officials are an important determinant for achieving substantive political representation. Our findings also suggest that supportive non-gay elected officials can effectively represent gays in the policy process.

Group Involvement and Democratic Orientations: Social Capital in the Postelection Context

Objective. This article tests the relationship between involvement in voluntary associations and attitudinal changes considered supportive of democratic principles and system legitimacy. Methods. We utilize 1996 pre- and postelection American National Election Studies panel data to test the proposed relationship. The effects of reported levels of group involvement are examined across three attitudinal measures of democratic support: trust in government, external efficacy, and absolute differences in postelection evaluations of the winning and losing candidates. Results. Greater involvement in voluntary organizations contributes to increased levels of postelection trust in government and external efficacy and a reduction in postelection polarization of comparative candidate evaluations. Conclusions. In addition to supporting the social capital proposition linking group involvement to orientations viewed as enhancing of democracy, this study also contributes to a growing literature linking individual-level behavior to changes in systemic-level attitudes.

Political Persuasion during Times of Crisis: The Effects of Education and News Media on Citizens' Factual Information about Iraq:

Education is a powerful cognitive resource that undermines the persuasiveness of political propaganda. However, little is known about the conditions that weaken this resource. This study examines whether lopsided media coverage preceding and during the initial phases of the Iraq War provided an information environment sufficient to overcome the positive effects of education, finding that for viewers of the unbalanced and partial CBS and Fox, the educated were as likely to be misinformed about Iraq as the uneducated. Findings are discussed within the context of persuasion theory and the watchdog role of the news media.

Can We Frame the Terrorist Threat? Issue Frames, the Perception of Threat, and Opinions on Counterterrorism Policies

In political disputes, issue frames set parameters for debate and shape which view dominates. This study expands issue framing research to examine the influence of frames on the perception of future terrorist threats as well as subsequent support for related counterterrorism policies. We test several hypotheses using data from an experimental field poll. We find that issue frames clearly influence perceptions of threat. However, our frames, which posit specific terrorism threats, only have a limited influence on respondent preferences for counter-terrorism policies. We consider a variety of explanations for these results and provide direction for future research.

Should We Really “Kill” the Messenger? Framing Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Role of Messengers

Undoubtedly, framing political issues is an effective means of influencing the distribution of opinion. But while most studies have shown the effectiveness of alternative issue frames on opinion, they largely ignore the role of the messenger. Our research examines whether message content or messengers are more important in influencing opinion. Four experimental conditions and a control were embedded in a statewide survey, allowing an explicit comparison between the impact of frames comprising message content alone and the same frames attributed to public figures identified with physician-assisted suicide. Results show that an attributed source is no more effective than content alone in influencing opinion on physician-assisted suicide and that the messenger might in fact reduce the intended influence of the message. We conclude with a discussion of our findings within the larger literature on political persuasion and attitude change.

Politicizing biology: Social movements, parties, and the case of homosexuality

Abstract We offer an expanded version of attribution theory that incorporates macro- and micro-elements. We then use this theory on a test case and propose an explanation of how individual beliefs about the origins of homosexuality have changed over time and become polarized along partisan lines. We argue that attributions on the origins of homosexuality have been shaped over time by the emergence of a macro-level debate about gay civil rights policy, the related macro-level partisan polarization on gay rights policies, and the strategic framing efforts of in-groups within the parties. We employ aggregate and individual level survey data, descriptive analysis, and content analysis and find support for a theory of attribution that accounts for macro-level factors when explaining individual-level attitudes. We conclude that policy debates can fundamentally shift as attributions become partisan or otherwise politicized.

Guns in the Ballot Box: Information, Groups, and Opinion in Ballot Initiative Campaigns

This article examines the extent to which a change in the information environment affected opinion of a recent gun safety ballot initiative in Washington. Through content analysis of newspaper stories and documentation of expenditures of competing interests, the authors are able to detect a discernable shift in the information environment during the final weeks of the campaign. Support for the initiative dropped appreciably concurrent with this shift. The authors are able to show that the altered information context (a) generated the greatest change among the most politically aware respondents and (b) sustained this effect within specific partisan classifications. Although previous research investigates analogous behavioral dynamics in a variety of political settings, this analysis differs in application to ballot initiative campaigns. The authors discuss the implications of their findings in terms of direct democracy campaigns and conclude that influence of competing interests are central to the nature and outcome of the election.