Party versus Democracy: The Rationalizing Voter

• In Event: Shaping Support for Democratic Norms

Abstract

Cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957) postulates that individuals experience psychological discomfort when confronted with conflicting cognitions. Within the context of democratic backsliding, wherein partisanship and democratic values serve as cognitive elements, the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance becomes particularly relevant, and the dissonance manifests when an individual's loyalty to a particular political party contradicts their professed democratic ideals.
However, it is imperative to underscore that the occurrence of dissonance in partisan voters, stemming from the choice between party and democracy, is contingent upon the simultaneous convergence of three specific conditions:
1. Positive Valence of Democratic Behavior: Voter holds a positive perception of democratic behavior,
2. Recognition of Undemocratic Behavior: Voters discern undemocratic behavior,
3. Salience of Democracy: Democracy constitutes a substantial factor in the voter’s calculus.
The criticality of these conditions emanates from the fact that the absence of any one of them renders democracy ineffectual in shaping partisan voter’s electoral choice. Consequently, the choice between party and democracy does not invariably evoke cognitive dissonance among partisan voters when they contemplate the possibility of supporting an "undemocratic" candidate from their party.
Conversely, when these three conditions are concurrently met, partisan voters grapple with a dilemma involving two alluring choices, thereby precipitating cognitive dissonance. To mitigate this psychological discomfort, individuals frequently engage in rationalization processes, thereby alleviating dissonance through unconscious cognitive mechanisms (Kunda, 1990; Levy et al., 2018). These processes culminate in the justification of their chosen course of action, while preserving an "illusion of objectivity" (Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1987). Importantly, this rationalization process unfolds surreptitiously, often evading conscious awareness and control (Bargh and Chartrand, 1999).
In scenarios where party allegiance appears to be at odds with democratic values, voters may rationalize their inclination towards partisanship, even in the presence of democratic values, as a mechanism to alleviate dissonance (Lodge and Taber, 2013). Alternatively, they might also rationalize in favor of democratic principles to reduce the dissonance. Consequently, this study endeavors to contribute to a comprehensive comprehension of partisan voter behavior in the face of dissonance arising from the choice between party and democracy.
I posit that the rationalization process underlying both party-oriented and democracy-oriented voting behavior is grounded in three fundamental factors, as previously elucidated in the context of conditions for democracy-oriented voting behavior. I contend that these identical factors can be rationalized when considering party allegiance and democratic commitment to mitigate cognitive dissonance. These rationalization strategies can be succinctly outlined as follows:
1. Rationalization of Valence of the Object via Selective Exposure (Festinger, 1957).
2. Rationalization of the Object Itself (e.g., Krishnarajan, 2022)
3. Rationalization of the Salience of the Object via Trivialization or Augmentation (Simon et al., 1995).
In these strategies, the "object" represents both the party and democracy. For instance, in the context of the third strategy, voters may trivialize the significance of their chosen party while augmenting the importance of democracy in their voting calculus to rationalize in favor of democracy.
The direction of this rationalization process hinges upon the underlying motives (Kunda, 1990). With directional motives, party allegiance is expected to prevail over democratic values, whereas accuracy motives may lead to democracy taking precedence over party allegiance in the decisions of partisan voters. This study investigates how these motives relate to the direction and extent of rationalization.
In summary, this study endeavors to comprehensively understand how voters rationalize their preference for party allegiance over democratic values. This understanding holds the key to addressing implicit biases against democratic principles within society. By shedding light on the intricate mechanisms underpinning partisan rationalization, this study aims to enhance voter self-awareness and challenge the latent biases that exist. Moreover, it seeks to spotlight less frequent yet pivotal scenarios wherein democratic principles triumph over party allegiance through pro-democracy rationalization. This, in turn, contributes to a holistic comprehension of voter behavior in the context of democratic backsliding. Lastly, this study endeavors to establish connections between interventions, such as moral reframing and norm priming, designed to promote democratic behavior and the rationalization strategies underpinning voter decisions.

Author

• Murat Akdogan, University of Pittsburgh