Cited by 118Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial and Intergroup PsychologyPolitical Theory and Democracy

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Competing Motives in the Partisan Mind: How Loyalty and Responsiveness Shape Party Identification and Democracy

Groenendyk, Eric·2013·Oxford University Press eBooks

DOI 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199969807.001.0001

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Abstract

Party identification is generally considered the most powerful predictor of voting behavior. Yet, after 50 years of research, scholars continue to disagree over the implications of this well-known finding. Some argue that party identification constitutes a stable affective attachment that voters are motivated to defend, whereas others argue that party identification constitutes a running tally of voters’ objective evaluations. Thus, party identification may serve as a pervasive source of bias that undermines accountability or as an indispensable shortcut that makes it easier for voters to hold government accountable. Competing Motives in the Partisan Mind seeks to advance the literature beyond this impasse by relaxing the motivational assumptions underlying the literature’s two dominant models. The books’ dual motivations model allows partisans to act like loyal fans who are motivated to maintain allegiance to their team and also like good citizens who are motivated to hold parties accountable. The nature of party identification and its implications for democracy hinge on the interplay between these two motivational forces. Results show that when people disagree with their party’s issue positions, they attempt to develop justifications for maintaining their party identity. This allows them to fulfill their motivation to remain loyal without appearing to be bad citizens whose judgment is clouded by partisan bias. Of course, identity justification requires cognitive resources,…

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Appendix
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.011
A New Form of Self-Expression
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.008
A House Divided against Itself?
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.002
Subtleties of Partisan Division
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.003
References
(2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.012
Bubbles of Involvement
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.006
Beyond Political Interest
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.004
Middle Grove
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.010
The Voice of Which People?
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.009
Index
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.013
Perceptions of the Most Sacred Duty
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.007
Preface and Acknowledgments
Krupnikov, Y., & Ryan, J. B. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108923323.001
Theories of Public Support for Court-Curbing
Bartels, B. L., & Johnston, C. D. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316979754.002
Weighing the Dead
Kalmoe, N. P. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.009
Ghosts of the Civil War
Kalmoe, N. P. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.012
References
Bartels, B. L., & Johnston, C. D. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316979754.009
Preface
Kalmoe, N. P. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.001
Conclusion
Kalmoe, N. P. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.013
References
Kalmoe, N. P. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.015
Partisan Stability & the Myth of Atlanta
Kalmoe, N. P. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.010

Authors: Groenendyk, E.
Corresponding author: Groenendyk, Eric
ORCID: Groenendyk, Eric
Venue: Oxford University Press eBooks
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2013-08-15
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199969807.001.0001
OpenAlex: W4237539593
Cited by: 118
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
FWCI: 8.70
Type: book
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Oxford University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
Keywords: party identification, voting behavior, partisan bias, cognitive resources, partisan disagreement, democratic accountability

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Competing Motives in the Partisan Mind: How Loyalty and Responsiveness Shape Party Identification and Democracy

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