Voting is the Best Revenge: How Violent Metaphors Shape Voter Turnout
47 Pages Posted: 27 Aug 2013
Date Written: 2013
Abstract
Political candidates regularly use violent metaphors, but little is known about their influence on voting behavior. Are they rhetorical flourishes or effective tools for mobilizing supporters? Drawing from psychological research on aggression and metaphors, I show that the electoral effects of metaphorical frames depend on their resonance with audience traits, both personal and political. I begin with content analysis of violent metaphors in presidential campaigns from 1932 through 2012, which correlate with aggregate turnout. Next I analyze two nationally-representative survey experiments that isolate the causal effects of violent metaphors. Finally, I show how violent campaign metaphors produce similar shifts in individual voting behavior across 11 presidential elections with pooled data from the American National Election Studies. In all three tests, the electoral impact of metaphorical frames depends jointly on audience personality traits and political orientations. This work also reveals the surprising role of aggression in democratic participation, one which also has a dark side.
Keywords: violent metaphors, voter turnout, trait aggression
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