Political scientists who favor the traditional view of voter behavior claim that voting in an...
Political scientists who favor the traditional view of voter behavior claim that voting in an election does not change a voter’s attitude toward the candidates in that election. Focusing on each US presidential election from 1976 to 1996, Ebonya Washington and Sendhil Mullainathan tested this claim by distinguishing between subjects who had just become old enough to vote (around half of whom actually voted) and otherwise similar subjects who were slightly too young to vote (and thus none of whom voted). Washington and Mullainathan compared the attitudes of the groups of subjects toward the winning candidate two years after each election. Which finding from Washington and Mullainathan’s study, if true, would most directly weaken the claim made by people who favor the traditional view of voter behavior?
- A) Subjects
- B) Subjects who were not old enough to vote in a given election held significantly more positive attitudes towards the winning candidate two years later than they held at the time of the election.
- C) Subjects who voted in a given election held significantly more polarized attitudes toward the winning candidate two years later than did subjects who were not old enough to vote in that election.
- D) Two years after a given election, subjects who voted and subjects who were not old enough to vote were significantly more likely to express negative attitudes than positive attitudes toward the winning candidate in that election.
Correct Answer: B) Subjects who were not old enough to vote in a given election held significantly more positive attitudes towards the winning candidate two years later than they held at the time of the election.
Explanation
The finding from Washington and Mullainathan's study that, if true, would most directly weaken the claim made by people who favor the traditional view of voter behavior is:B) Subjects who were not old enough to vote in a given election held significantly more positive attitudes towards the winning candidate two years later than they held at the time of the election.The traditional view of voter behavior claims that voting in an election does not change a voter's attitude toward the candidates. However, if it is true that subjects who were not old enough to vote in a given election held significantly more positive attitudes toward the winning candidate two years later than they held at the time of the election, it suggests that the act of voting has an impact on the attitudes of voters. This finding weakens the claim that voting does not change a voter's attitude and supports the idea that voting can influence attitudes towards candidates. Therefore, choice B is the finding that directly weakens the traditional view of voter behavior.