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It's a Mad, Mad World: Using Emotion Inductions in a Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2015

Kathleen Searles  and
Kyle Mattes
Kathleen Searles
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University, 240 Stubbs Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; e-mail: ksearles@lsu.edu
Kyle Mattes
Affiliation:
Florida International University, Department of Politics and International Relations, Miami, FL, USA The University of Iowa, Department of Political Science, Iowa City, IA, USA
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Abstract

Recent research has uncovered a dynamic role for emotion in political decision-making. Anger in particular has increased in importance as scholars uncover its role in motivating participation and partisanship. One method for examining these effects is to use an induction to invoke an emotion, though such techniques are often limited to the laboratory. We discuss pertinent psychological research on induction, test several methods, and make practical recommendations for political science survey research. Using a unique research design which varies the way anger is invoked, we first find significant effects using a scenario induction. We replicate these findings with an adult sample and extend the results to political inductions. We are able to offer practical advice to scholars interested in replicating the effects of angry campaign ads or better understanding the effects of anger arousal on political behavior.

Keywords

Emotioninductionsurvey experimentpolitical psychology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Experimental Political Science , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , Winter 2015 , pp. 172 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © The Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2015 

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