One More Time: How Do Voters Really Decide Whom To Vote For?
I know I am very tired of listening to coverage of the 2004 Presidential election, and I’m especially weary of the polls showing who the latest “winner” of the election will be.
You have probably heard alot of opinions about how people decide whom to vote for. But this study argues for a rather different perspective as to how people decide whom to vote for; specifically,
this study argues that voters decide which person to vote for based on the perceived ability of the candidate to process complex information! The study concludes that:
the candidate with the highest level of information processing
complexity invariably wins the election.
Based on that information, who do you think will win the Presidential election???
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Comments
The research sounds very suspicious, as it seems impossible to track “why” people pick candidates (especially considering those people who are one issue or straight ticket voters).
If accurate, perhaps the voters are looking, not for complex words - but evidence of an understanding of complex issues.
In my view, it takes a far greater mind to coalesce complex issues into simple statements, then to obfuscate simple issues into complex ones.
The flip-flop charge is a question of trustworthiness. Does the supposed flip-flopper tell you what he believes, or what he thinks you want to hear?
So, if one candidate shows his apparent changes in positions (”flipflops”) are rationally based on intelligent processing of complex information, and the other candidate’s dogged consistency appears to be the result of inability to perceive and process complexities and “nuances,” the first one is likely to win?