When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections
Hot temperatures lead to heightened arousal. According to excitation transfer theory, arousal can increase both antisocial and prosocial behavior, depending on the context. Although many studies have shown that hot temperatures can increase antisocial behavior, very few studies have investigated the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00929/full |
| _version_ | 1818158795846582272 |
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| author | Jasper Van Assche Alain Van Hiel Jonas Stadeus Brad J. Bushman David De Cremer Arne Roets |
| author_facet | Jasper Van Assche Alain Van Hiel Jonas Stadeus Brad J. Bushman David De Cremer Arne Roets |
| author_sort | Jasper Van Assche |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hot temperatures lead to heightened arousal. According to excitation transfer theory, arousal can increase both antisocial and prosocial behavior, depending on the context. Although many studies have shown that hot temperatures can increase antisocial behavior, very few studies have investigated the relationship between temperature and prosocial behavior. One important prosocial behavior is voting. We analyzed state-level data from the United States presidential elections (N = 761). Consistent with excitation transfer theory, which proposes that heat-induced arousal can transfer to other activities and strengthen those activities, changes in temperature and voter turnout were positively related. Moreover, a positive change in temperature was related to a positive change in votes for the incumbent party. These findings add to the literature on the importance of non-ideological and non-rational factors that influence voting behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T15:35:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-86f82074ae61495984f8921e0d9e6af6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T15:35:46Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-86f82074ae61495984f8921e0d9e6af62022-12-22T00:59:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782017-06-01810.3389/fpsyg.2017.00929264373When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential ElectionsJasper Van Assche0Alain Van Hiel1Jonas Stadeus2Brad J. Bushman3David De Cremer4Arne Roets5Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumDepartment of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumDepartment of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumSchool of Communication and Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, ColumbusOH, United StatesJudge Business School, University of CambridgeCambridge, United KingdomDepartment of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumHot temperatures lead to heightened arousal. According to excitation transfer theory, arousal can increase both antisocial and prosocial behavior, depending on the context. Although many studies have shown that hot temperatures can increase antisocial behavior, very few studies have investigated the relationship between temperature and prosocial behavior. One important prosocial behavior is voting. We analyzed state-level data from the United States presidential elections (N = 761). Consistent with excitation transfer theory, which proposes that heat-induced arousal can transfer to other activities and strengthen those activities, changes in temperature and voter turnout were positively related. Moreover, a positive change in temperature was related to a positive change in votes for the incumbent party. These findings add to the literature on the importance of non-ideological and non-rational factors that influence voting behavior.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00929/fullexcitation transfer theorypresidential electionsprosocial behaviortemperaturevoter turnoutvoting result |
| spellingShingle | Jasper Van Assche Alain Van Hiel Jonas Stadeus Brad J. Bushman David De Cremer Arne Roets When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections Frontiers in Psychology excitation transfer theory presidential elections prosocial behavior temperature voter turnout voting result |
| title | When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections |
| title_full | When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections |
| title_fullStr | When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections |
| title_full_unstemmed | When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections |
| title_short | When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections |
| title_sort | when the heat is on the effect of temperature on voter behavior in presidential elections |
| topic | excitation transfer theory presidential elections prosocial behavior temperature voter turnout voting result |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00929/full |
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