Understanding Anxiety and Aversion: The Origins and Consequences of Affectivity in Political Campaigns

Capelos, Tereza

doi:10.1057/9781137025661_3

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…The negative event should not have occurred on moral grounds—indeed, could have not happened—since the experience of anger implies that the people blamed are perceived to be in control of their actions and capable of having acted otherwise. In support, Steenbergen and Ellis () found moral considerations to be a primary driver of US citizens’ aversion to President Bill Clinton, while Capelos () demonstrated that anger, not anxiety, is distinctively elicited by low‐integrity candidates. Whereas fear, as Petersen () has shown, operates in the domain of hazards, anger pertains to the domain of morality and rule violation, in which intentionality is particularly relevant.…”

Section: Emotions and Populismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emotional Underpinnings of Populism: How Anger and Fear Affect Populist Attitudes

Rico

Guinjoan

Anduiza

2017

Swiss Political Sci Review

314

221

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Popular accounts of populist movements often point to negative emotions as a key motivating factor underlying their support. However, little systematic research has been devoted to examining differences in how distinct negative emotions affect levels of populism among voters. This paper attempts to fill this gap by focusing on the influence of the two emotions most frequently connected to populism in political commentary: fear and anger. Informed by appraisal theories of emotions, we hypothesize that populist attitudes are driven by feelings of anger, rather than fear. Using a three-wave online panel survey of Spanish citizens between 2014 and 2016, we find that anger expressed over the economic crisis is consistently associated with variations in support for populism both between individuals and over time, whereas no significant effects emerge for expressions of fear. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the nature of populist support.

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Section: Emotions and Populismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emotional Underpinnings of Populism: How Anger and Fear Affect Populist Attitudes

Rico

Guinjoan

Anduiza

2017

Swiss Political Sci Review

314

221

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“…Basic emotions like joy, fear, anger, hope, disgust, sadness, and social emotions like shame, guilt, envy, and jealousy stimulate physiological and mental readiness and motivation for specific actions (Ekman, 2004; Frijda, 2004; Lazarus, 1993). Studies in political psychology provide ample evidence that discrete emotions have distinct effects on political decision-making, demonstrating that how citizens feel and think is inter-related (Capelos, 2011; Capelos, 2013). For example, anxious citizens are more likely to navigate the political world in a risk-averse manner compared to citizens who are angry or hopeful (Capelos & Exadaktylos, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

Positive thinking elevates tolerance: Experimental effects of happiness on adolescents’ attitudes toward asylum seekers

Tenenbaum

Capelos²,

Lorimer

et al. 2018

Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry

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Inducing emotional reactions toward social groups can influence individuals' political tolerance. This study examines the influence of incidental fear and happiness on adolescents' tolerant attitudes and feelings toward young Muslim asylum seekers. In our experiment, 219 16- to 21-year-olds completed measures of prejudicial attitudes. After being induced to feel happiness, fear, or no emotion (control), participants reported their tolerant attitudes and feelings toward asylum-seeking young people. Participants assigned to the happiness condition demonstrated more tolerant attitudes toward asylum-seeking young people than did those assigned to the fear or control conditions. Participants in the control condition did not differ from participants in the fear condition. The participants in the happiness condition also had more positive feelings toward asylum-seeking young people than did participants in the control condition. The findings suggest that one way to increase positive attitudes toward asylum-seeking young people is to improve general emotional state.

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“…It is possible, therefore, that people have emotional responses to candidates in an election, especially in one of major importance such as a presidential contest. This has been confirmed by empirical research showing that people have emotional reactions towards candidates (Abelson et al, 1982;Ottati, Steenbergen and Riggle, 1992;Capelos, 2013), and that these emotions have consequences for their attitudes and behaviors (Capelos, 2013). In other words, emotions towards candidates will be independent of the final voting decision.…”

Section: The Direct Association Of Emotions With the Votementioning

confidence: 64%

Between knowing and feeling: emotions and the vote in the 2017 Chilean presidential election

Segovia

Gamboa

2020

Opin. Publica

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How do citizens decide who to vote for in an election? Traditional answers focus on the role of political knowledge, party identification, and evaluations of the past performance of governments as explanatory variables. In this study we evaluate an alternative argument: the role of emotions. Using data from a survey carried out following the Chilean general elections of December 2017, this article investigates the association of emotions with the vote for Sebastián Piñera, and how emotions interact with other relevant factors that correlate with the vote. We conclude that in Chile, together with party identification and the evaluation of past governments, the emotions aroused by candidates are strongly associated with the voting decision.

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Understanding Anxiety and Aversion: The Origins and Consequences of Affectivity in Political Campaigns

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

The Emotional Underpinnings of Populism: How Anger and Fear Affect Populist Attitudes

The Emotional Underpinnings of Populism: How Anger and Fear Affect Populist Attitudes

Positive thinking elevates tolerance: Experimental effects of happiness on adolescents’ attitudes toward asylum seekers

Between knowing and feeling: emotions and the vote in the 2017 Chilean presidential election

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