The End of the Dichotomy: The Effect of Social Proximity to Prototype and Periphery Group Members on Political Attitudes*

Abstract

ObjectiveWe extend prototype theory to explain why nonmembers who are socially connected to group members hold political attitudes that differ from nonmembers lacking that connection. We anticipate that the intensity of nonmember attitudes varies by connection to a prototype or periphery group member.MethodsUsing data from the 2006 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), we model group‐salient political attitudes for veterans, union members, and their family members.ResultsWe find social distance from group members is theoretically linked to within‐group variation that distinguishes prototype from periphery group members.ConclusionAnalysis of political attitudes is enhanced beyond the traditional member/nonmember dichotomy by accounting for nonmembers’ social distance from group members.

Identity Fusion and the Use of Force: A Group-Psychological Explanation for Support of Military Interventions

“…Examining public attitudes toward 9/11 and the Iraq War, Gartner (2010) found those personally connected to events have distinct attitudes from members of the public without such connections. Others have found similarly group-interested attitudes among those with a family connection to a group (Krueger and Pedraza 2018). While each of these effectively measures a social proximity, simply being near a group does not ensure a psychological attachment to it.…”

“…More recently, scholars have focused on the importance of identity and attachment to one’s nation to explain variation in public support (Herrmann 2017; Herrmann, Isernia, and Segatti 2009). These perspectives suggest multiple approaches to disaggregating public opinion, although the results of disaggregation have not always been consistent (Krueger and Pedraza 2018; Mader 2015; Reifler et al 2014).…”