The role of rational choice, social identity and neurocognitive ability in voting behaviour

Voter choice is one of fundamental questions in political science. The most common models assume that voting is a rational choice based on policy positions (e.g., key issues) and nonpolicy information (e.g., social identity, personality).

In contrast to the notion of the voter as a rational decision maker, Tversky and Kahneman (1974) identified a number of heuristics (roughly described as general rules of thumb) on which most people rely, which causes predictable biases or systematic errors in reasoning and judgment. Despite overturning models of economic decision making, the ‘heuristics and biases’ theory has not been tested experimentally in political science research (cf. Dancely & Sheagley, 2012).

A test that measures an individual’s tendency to rely on heuristics is called the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) under which participants must coordinate the demands of comprehension and manipulation of information. The tasks are designed to elicit an immediate and incorrect ‘gut’ response that must be inhibited to be successful. An example CRT question reads: if a bat and ball cost £1.10, and the bat cost £1 more than the ball, how much does the ball cost? Most people incorrectly answer 10p. The CRT measures a dimension separable from that assessed in IQ tests, the tendency to override incorrect initial heuristic, "gut" responses. Performance correlates only weakly with IQ (~0.2-0.3) so is not strongly related to general cognitive ability. This research will test whether CRT performance correlates with political affiliation, appeal of populist candidates / positions and voting behaviour.

To further explore the prevalence of irrational, effortless decision making in political decisions, we will test frontal lobe function. Asp, Ramachandran and Tranel (2012) reported patients with damage to the frontal lobes of the brain had higher fundamentalist beliefs than a differently brain-damaged comparison group and a medical comparison group that had experienced a life-threatening event with no resulting brain damage. Patients with damage to the frontal lobes are also more vulnerable to deceptive advertising (Asp et al., 2012). Moreover, credulity is not just a characteristic of brain damaged individuals: Older adults too are more susceptible to telemarketing scams (Chen, 2007) and their social judgments are more easily swayed by explicitly false information; likely a consequence of decreased frontal lobe functioning in older age. Measures of frontal executive functions can assess an individual’s tendency towards accepting information uncritically, and susceptibility to suggestion and manipulation.

Our project will challenge the concept of the rational voter and highlight the role of individual differences in cognition, beyond general cognitive ability, that contribute to political behaviour.

Applications are made via out website using the Apply Online button below. If you have an enquiry about this project please contact us via the Email NOW button, however your application will only be processed once you have submitted an application form as opposed to emailing your CV to us.

Candidates for funded PhD studentship must demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 3 years.

Fully-funded studentship candidates must demonstrate outstanding academic potential with preferably a 1st class honours degree and/or a Master’s degree with distinction or equivalent Grade Point Average. An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (with a minimum 5.5 in each component) is essential for candidates for whom English is not their first language.

In addition to satisfying basic entry criteria, BU will look closely at the qualities, skills and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful completion.