This study aims to examine the effects of rationality and emotion on voter turnout. By applying the empirical implications of a theoretical models framework, I outline the relationship between rationality, emotion, and turnout and propose two hypotheses about the effects of party differential and emotion differential on turnout. The empirical test using data from American National Election Studies 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 shows that both party differential and emotion differential exert significantly positive effects on turnout, which confirms that individual turnout decision is a function of both rationality and emotion. However, this study suggests that rationality plays a more important and consistent role in individual turnout decision than emotion, because the effect of emotion on turnout might be built on the appearance of charismatic candidates.
AbelsonRPKinderDRPetersMD. (1982) Affective and semantic components in political person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology42(4): 619–630.
2.
AldrichJH (1993) Rational choice and turnout. American Journal of Political Science37(1): 246–278.
3.
BarryB (1970) Sociologists, Economists and Democracy. London: Macmillan.
4.
BartelsLM (2000) Partisanship and voting behavior, 1952–1996. American Journal of Political Science44(1): 35–50.
5.
BarzelYSilberbergE (1973) Is the act of voting rational?Public Choice16(1): 51–58.
6.
BraderT (2006) Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
7.
BradyHE (1985) The perils of survey research: Inter-personally incomparable responses. Political Methodology11(3/4): 269–291.
8.
BradyHEVerbaSSchlozmanKL (1995) Beyond SES: A resource model of political participation. American Political Science Review89(2): 271–294.
9.
CampbellAGurinGMillerWE (1954) The Voter Decides. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.
10.
CampbellAConversePEMillerWE. (1960) The American Voter. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.
11.
ConoverPJFeldmanS (1986) Emotional reactions to the economy: I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. American Journal of Political Science30(1): 50–78.
12.
DamasioAR (1994) Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain. New York, NY: Putnam and Sons.
13.
DownsA (1957) An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
14.
EmrichCGBrowerHHFeldmanJM. (2001) Images in words: Presidential rhetoric, charisma, and greatness. Administrative Science Quarterly46(3): 527–557.
15.
FerejohnJAFiorinaMP (1974) The paradox of not voting: A decision theoretic analysis. American Political Science Review68(2): 525–536.
16.
FiorinaMP (1976) The voting decision: Instrumental and expressive aspects. Journal of Politics38(2): 390–415.
17.
FosterCB (1984) The performance of rational voter models in recent presidential elections. American Political Science Review78(3): 678–690.
18.
GeysB (2006) Rational theories of voter turnout: A review. Political Studies Review4(1): 16–35.
19.
GranatoJLoMWongMCS (2010) A framework for unifying formal and empirical analysis. American Journal of Political Science54(3): 783–797.
20.
GrayJA (1990) Brain systems that mediate both emotion and cognition. Cognition and Emotion4(3): 269–288.
21.
GreenDPalmquistBSchicklerE (2002) Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties and the Social Identities of Voters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
22.
HouseRJSpanglerWDWoyckeJ (1991) Personality and charisma in the U.S. presidency: A psychological theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly36(3): 364–396.
23.
HuddyLFeldmanSTaberC. (2005) Threat, anxiety, and support of antiterrorism policies. American Journal of Political Science49(3): 593–608.
24.
LeighleyJENaglerJ (1992) Socioeconomic class bias in turnout, 1964–1988: The voters remain the same. American Political Science Review86(3): 725–736.
25.
LevenduskyMS (2010) Clearer cues, more consistent voters: A benefit of elite polarization. Political Behavior32(1): 111–131.
26.
Lewis-BeckMSJacobyWGNorpothH. (2008) The American Voter Revisited. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
27.
MarcusGE (1988) The structure of emotional response: 1984 presidential candidates. American Political Science Review82(3): 737–761.
28.
MarcusGE (2000) Emotions in politics. Annual Review of Political Science3: 221–250.
29.
MarcusGEMackuenMB (1993) Anxiety, enthusiasm, and the vote: The emotional underpinnings of leaning and involvement during presidential campaigns. American Political Science Review87(3): 672–785.
30.
MarcusGENeumanWRMackuenMB (2000) Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
31.
MarcusGEMackuenMBNeumanWR (2011) Parsimony and complexity: Developing and testing theories of affective intelligence. Political Psychology32(2): 323–336.
32.
MillerPR (2011) The emotional citizen: Emotion as a function of political sophistication. Political Psychology32(4): 575–600.
33.
MillerWE (1980) Disinterest, disaffection, and participation in presidential politics. Political Behavior2(1): 7–32.
34.
NamkoongKFungTKFScheufeleDA (2012) The politics of emotion: News media attention, emotional responses, and participation during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Mass Communication and Society15(1): 25–45.
35.
PaganoSJHuoYJ (2007) The role of moral emotions in predicting support for political actions in post-war Iraq. Political Psychology28(2): 227–255.
36.
RikerWHOrdeshookPC (1968) A theory of the calculus of voting. American Political Science Review62(1): 25–42.
37.
RosenstoneSJHansenJM (1993) Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York, NY: Macmillan.
38.
SettleRFAbramsBA (1976) The determinants of voter participation: A more general model. Public Choice27(1): 81–89.
39.
ShieldsTGGoidelRK (1997) Participation rates, socioeconomic class biases, and congressional elections: A crossvalidation. American Journal of Political Science41(2): 683–691.
40.
SigelmanLBerryWD (1982) Cost and the Calculus of Voting. Political Behavior4(4): 419–428.
41.
StromGS (1975) On the apparent paradox of participation: A new proposal. American Political Science Review69(3): 908–913.
42.
TennS (2007) The effect of education on voter turnout. Political Analysis15(4): 446–464.
43.
TimponeRJ (1998) Structure, behavior, and voter turnout in the United States. American Political Science Review92(1): 145–158.
44.
TullockG (2000) Some further thoughts on voting. Public Choice104(1/2): 181–182.
45.
ValentinoNABraderTGroenendykEW. (2011) Election night’s alright for fighting: The role of emotions in political participation. Journal of Politics73(1): 156–170.
46.
VerbaSSchlozmanKLBradyHE (1995) Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
47.
WatsonDTellegenA (1985) Toward a consensual structure of mood. Psychological Bulletin98(2): 219–235.
