Cited by 777Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationPolitical Theory and DemocracyMedia Influence and Politics

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Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate

BULLOCK, JOHN G.·2011·American Political Science Review

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Abstract

An enduring concern about democracies is that citizens conform too readily to the policy views of elites in their own parties, even to the point of ignoring other information about the policies in question. This article presents two experiments that undermine this concern, at least under one important condition. People rarely possess even a modicum of information about policies; but when they do, their attitudes seem to be affected at least as much by that information as by cues from party elites. The experiments also measure the extent to which people think about policy. Contrary to many accounts, they suggest that party cues do not inhibit such thinking. This is not cause for unbridled optimism about citizens' ability to make good decisions, but it is reason to be more sanguine about their ability to use information about policy when they have it.

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Background
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Nhikiti, B. (2023) · International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance · doi:10.1145/3614321.3614374 · Cited by 2
Do incumbents gain from calling a snap election?
Sevi, S., Aviña, M. M., & Dassonneville, R. C. (2023) · Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties · doi:10.1080/17457289.2023.2293205 · Cited by 2
“While partisanship shapes public opinion to a great extent, voters may also update their preferences in the face of new information (Bullock 2011; Coppock 2022; Carsey and Layman 2006).”
Partisan values and gay rights: Public opinion about employment nondiscrimination
Rhodebeck, L. A., Gainous, J., & Gray, T. J. (2018) · Politics · doi:10.1177/0263395718755295 · Cited by 2
“Used by political parties and their allies, framing can be a powerful tool to shape support for the policy positions they advocate (Bullock, 2011; Druckman et al., 2013).”
Background
Why Adopt Direct Democracy?
Altman, D. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108634397.007 · Cited by 2
Receptivity to Political Cues
Malka, A. (2014) · The Encyclopedia of Political Thought · doi:10.1002/9781118474396.wbept0869 · Cited by 2
Conflicting Cues: Item Nonresponse and Experimental Mortality
Ciuk, D. J., & Yost, B. A. (2019) · doi:10.1002/9781119083771.ch9 · Cited by 2
Partisan Cues and Public Support for Democratic Norm ViolationsPreprint
Metin, O. F., & Georgarakis, G. N. (2023) · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/tyru4 · Cited by 2
Affect, Not Ideology: The Heterogeneous Effects of Partisan Cues on Policy SupportPreprint
Fuller, S., de la Cerda, N., & Rametta, J. T. (2023) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/4k38a · Cited by 2
Trade Policy is Back in the News: Will Voters Care?
Guisinger, A. (2019) · The Forum · doi:10.1515/for-2019-0039 · Cited by 1
Generating Support for a Hypothetical War: Presidential Cues and Justifications
Gooch, A. (2019) · Social Science Quarterly · doi:10.1111/ssqu.12849 · Cited by 1
Government Eyewitness: Considering New Approaches to Political Coverage Through Local TV’s Greatest Strengths
Calfano, B., Panagopoulos, C., & Raffa, E. (2022) · Journalism & Communication Monographs · doi:10.1177/15226379221131045 · Cited by 1
“Though the effects are somewhat limited, Bullock (2011) found people may agree with policies that were not consistent with their party’s viewpoint.”
Background
Do Political Preferences Affect Policy Learning and Uptake? Evidence from a Field Experiment with Informal Entrepreneurs
Zucco, C., Lenz, A.-K., Goldszmidt, R., & Valdivia, M. (2023) · Journal of Politics · doi:10.1086/723977 · Cited by 1
Political expertise, ecological rationality and party cues
Bergan, D. E., Carnahan, D., & Virtue, I. (2023) · Behavioural Public Policy · doi:10.1017/bpp.2023.28 · Cited by 1
Divergent views of party positions: How ideology and own issue position shape party perception through convergence and divergence processes
Schul, Y., & Ganzach, Y. (2024) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302241264420 · Cited by 1
“…holds regarding a political issue might be influenced by the position advocated by his/her favored party (Bisgaard & Slothuus, 2018; Satherley et al., 2018), although it has been shown that partisans do not automatically shift their opinions in line with the party (Bullock, 2011; Nordø, 2021).”
A Review on Placemaking Strategies Towards Enhancing “Sense of Place” in Parks
Adhesh, Dash, S. P., Rajalaxmi, K., & Nayak, S. R. (2024) · Lecture notes in civil engineering · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-4988-1_23 · Cited by 1
Attitude Manipulation and Voting Intentions
Berk, N. (2025) · Political Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11109-025-10035-5 · Cited by 3
“Second, the findings also confirm prior evidence of cue-taking effects in information-rich envi - ronments (Boudreau and MacKenzie 2014; Bullock 2011).”
Influential

Authors: BULLOCK, J. G.
Affiliations: Yale University (US)
Corresponding author: BULLOCK, JOHN G.
ORCID: BULLOCK, JOHN G.
Venue: American Political Science Review
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published: 2011-08
Volume: 105
Issue: 3
Pages: 496-515
ISSN: 0003-0554 (ISSN-L)
1537-5943
DOI: 10.1017/s0003055411000165
OpenAlex: W3124069454
Cited by: 777
References: 103
Citations by year: 2026: 42 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 90 · 2022: 88 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 64 · 2018: 70 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 16
FWCI: 154.52
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 24 d)
Locations: American Political Science Review (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
Keywords: elite influence, public opinion, party cues, policy information, party identification, democratic decision-making

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Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate

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