Estimated Crowding Capacity, Time, and Terrtorial Markers: A Cross-National Test

The right–left dimension is ubiquitous in politics, but prior perspectives provide conflicting accounts of whether cultural and economic attitudes are typically aligned on this dimension within mass publics around the world. Using survey data from ninety-nine nations, this study finds not only that right–left attitude organization is uncommon, but that it is more common for culturally and economically right-wing attitudes to correlate negatively with each other, an attitude structure reflecting a contrast between desires for cultural and economic protection vs. freedom. This article examines where, among whom and why protection–freedom attitude organization outweighs right–left attitude organization, and discusses the implications for the psychological bases of ideology, quality of democratic representation and the rise of extreme right politics in the West.

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The Psychology of Online Political Hostility: A Comprehensive, Cross-National Test of the Mismatch Hypothesis

American Political Science Review ◽

10.1017/s0003055421000885 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

ALEXANDER BOR ◽

MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN

Keyword(s):

Empirical Test ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Selection Effects ◽

Behavioral Experiments ◽

Human Psychology ◽

Face To Face ◽

National Surveys ◽

National Test ◽

Mismatch Hypothesis ◽

Cross National

Why are online discussions about politics more hostile than offline discussions? A popular answer argues that human psychology is tailored for face-to-face interaction and people’s behavior therefore changes for the worse in impersonal online discussions. We provide a theoretical formalization and empirical test of this explanation: the mismatch hypothesis. We argue that mismatches between human psychology and novel features of online environments could (a) change people’s behavior, (b) create adverse selection effects, and (c) bias people’s perceptions. Across eight studies, leveraging cross-national surveys and behavioral experiments (total N = 8,434), we test the mismatch hypothesis but only find evidence for limited selection effects. Instead, hostile political discussions are the result of status-driven individuals who are drawn to politics and are equally hostile both online and offline. Finally, we offer initial evidence that online discussions feel more hostile, in part, because the behavior of such individuals is more visible online than offline.

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Cross-National Test of the Theory

10.1093/oso/9780198826927.003.0003 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ekrem Karakoç

Keyword(s):

Method Of Moments ◽

Research Question ◽

Generalized Method Of Moments ◽

Panel Data Models ◽

Multivariate Statistical ◽

Political Factors ◽

Large N ◽

National Test ◽

Cross National

The previous chapter posed the primary research question and offered a new theory that encompassed two interrelated arguments. This chapter produces three hypotheses derived from the new theory offered in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 tests these arguments in a large-N study using multivariate statistical analysis. The first section discusses the operationalization of our main dependent and independent variables. It will also briefly outline a set of control variables and what the literature predicts regarding their effect on spending and inequality. These factors range from economic factors (globalization, inflation, female labor participation, economic development), political factors (partisanship, electoral systems, election cycle), and demographic factors. To correct for problems associated with the nature of panel data models, such as endogeneity, heteroskedasticity, and autocorrelation, it uses the Arellano-Bond estimation, which uses the Generalized Method of Moments. The rest of the chapter presents the results and offers its interpretation and conclusion.

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