Considerable evidence supports the view that information processing often operates in an automatic, less conscious mode of cognition (Lodge & Taber, 2013). Such automatic or "implicit attitudes" have been shown to be a strong predictor of a variety of political outcomes (Perez, 2013). Despite such evidence, it remains unclear the mechanism linking implicit attitudes to political decision-making. This dissertation project attempts to shed light on this issue by examining the impact of implicit attitudes on political information search and candidate evaluation. In my experimental design, I use both the implicit association test (IAT) and the dynamic information board methodology (Lau & Redlawsk, 2006) to directly assess the effect of implicit racial attitudes on how subjects search for information and evaluate political candidates in the context of a mock presidential campaign. I also address a key criticism in this literature by exploring under what conditions implicit attitudes are likely to have stronger and weaker effects on political behavior. To do this, I include a set of manipulations that vary a key feature of the information environment (high vs. low cognitive load) and subjects' emotional state (positive vs. negative). The results from this project provide a direct assessment of both implicit attitudes' impact on information search and candidate evaluation as well as potential moderating factors. Turning to the results, my main finding is that implicit racial bias is a strong predictor of subjects' information search patterns, which in turn impact candidate evaluation and vote choice. However, as I demonstrate in subsequent chapters, the relationship between implicit bias and voter decision-making is moderated by changes to the information environment. The results from this project provide insight into a key pathway (information search) through which implicit attitudes impact decision-making. Moreover, I empirically demonstrate important potential boundary conditions for understanding the influence of such attitudes on behavior.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Political Science
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_6123
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (xii, 237 p. : ill.)
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Attitude (Psychology)
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Decision making
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Political psychology
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Vincent Greco
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.