The relationship of basic human values and voting behavior

2319

Abstract

The present study is aimed at investigating the relations between the basic individual values of Russians and their political behavior, which based on electoral behavior and electoral attitudes. In our study we use a method based on the theory of basic human values in order to understand by which universal human values Russians are guided and driven when choosing a particular candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation. An empirical study based on the results of a representative survey in two Federal districts of Russia, held shortly after the elections. The empirical analysis showed basic values of respondents are related to their political preferences. The study showed that, firstly, the main opposition of values associated with the results of the election, is "conservation" — "openness to change". Secondly, voting for most candidates is associated with the values of "conservation", which indicates the absence of significant differences in the values transmitted by Russian policies. This paper considers which of the values are prompted the electorate to vote for each of the candidates (Putin, Zuganov, Prokhorov, Zhirinovsy, and Mironov). The article was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research Univer- sity Higher School of Economics (HSE) and supported within the framework of a subsidy granted to the HSE by the Government of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the Global Competitiveness Program.

General Information

Keywords: basic human values, voting, conservation

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/sps.2017080102

For citation: Tatarko A.N. The relationship of basic human values and voting behavior. Sotsial'naya psikhologiya i obshchestvo = Social Psychology and Society, 2017. Vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 17–37. DOI: 10.17759/sps.2017080102. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Bogdan I.V. Politicheskie cennosti v sovremennoj Rossii: kognitivnye, jemocional’nye i povedencheskie aspekty [Political values in modern Russia: cognitive, emotional and behavioral aspects]. Problemnyj analiz i gosudarstvenno-upravlencheskoe proektirovanie [Problem analysis and state government planning], 2014. Vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 24—34.
  2. Byzov L.G. Krizis identichnosti sovremennogo rossijskogo obshhestva i motivacija social’no-politicheskogo vybora [The identity crisis of modern Russian society and moti- vation of social-political choice]. Vestnik moskovskogo universiteta [The Moscow University Bulletin], 1999, no. 4, pp. 26—69.
  3. Groshev I.V. Individual’no-lichnostnye i genderno-polovye osobennosti determinacii golosovanija izbiratelej v uslovijah deficita informacii o kandidatah [Individually-person- al and gender-sexual peculiarities voting determination of electors in candidates infor- mation deficit conditions]. Eksperimental’naâ psihologiâ [Experimental Psychology], 2013. Vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 98—118. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
  4. Diligenskij G.G. Social’no-politicheskaja psihologija [The Social and political psy- chology]. Moscow: Nauka, 1994. 304 p.
  5. Indina T.A., Morosanova V.I. Racional’nost’ prinjatija reshenij (na materiale politicheskogo golosovanija izbiratelej) [Rationality in Decision-Making, Based on a Po- litical Voting Paradigm]. Eksperimental’naâ psihologiâ [Experimental Psychology], 2009. Vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 52—71. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
  6. Lebedev I.A. Politicheskie cennosti kak slozhnyj i mnogomernyj ob#ekt [Political values as a complex and multidimensional object]. Vestnik Mosk. un-ta [The Moscow Uni- versity Bulletin], 1999. Ser. 12, no. 2, pp. 38—49.
  7. Malashenko I.V. Izuchenie Jelektoral’nogo povedenija naselenija: sravnitel’nyj analiz zarubezhnyh i otechestvennyh teorij [The study of electoral behavior of the population: a comparative analysis of foreign and domestic theories]. Vestnik Brjanskogo gosudarst- vennogo universiteta. Istorija. Pravo. Literaturovedenie. Jazykoznanie [Bullitein of Bryansk state University. History. Law. Literature study. Linguistics], 2014, no. 2, pp. 89—93.
  8. Pain Je., Gudkov L. Protestnye mitingi v Rossii konca 2011—nachala 2012 gg.: za- pros na demokratizaciju politicheskih institutov [Protest rallies in Russia in late 2011 and early 2012: the request for the democratization of political institutions]. Vestnik obshhest- vennogo mnenija [Bulletin of public opinion], 2012. Vol. 112, no. 2, pp. 73—86.
  9. Petuhov V.V. Politicheskie cennosti i povedenie srednego klassa [Political values and behavior of the middle class]. Sociologicheskie issledovanija [Sociological research], 2000, no. 3, pp. 23—32.
  10. Putevoditel’ po vyboram: politicheskaja Rossija-2007 [Elections guide: political Rus- sia-2007]. In V. Fedorov (ed). Moscow: VCIOM, 2007. 448 p.
  11. Sobkin V.S., Mnatsakanyan M.A. Otnoshenie k politicheskim lideram sovremennyh starsheklassnikov (po materialam psihosemanticheskogo issledovanija) [Perception of Political Leaders in Modern School Students (A Psychosemantic Research)]. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia i obshchestvo [Social Psychology and Society], 2015. Vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 41—59. doi:10.17759/sps.2015060404. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  12. Fjodorov V.V. Russkij vybor . Vvedenie v teoriju jelektoral’nogo povedenija rossijan [Russian choice. Introduction to the theory of electoral behavior of Russians]. Moscow: Praksis. 2010. 384 p.
  13. Shvarc Sh., Butenko T.P., Sedova D.S., Lipatova A.S. Utochnennaja teorija bazovyh individual’nyh cennostej: primenenie v Rossii [Refined theory of basic human values: vali- dation in Russia]. Psihologija. Zhurnal Vysshej shkoly jekonomiki [Psychology. Journal of Higher school of Economics.], 2012. Vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 43—70.
  14. Bardi A., Schwartz S.H. Values and behavior: Strength and structure of relations. Per- sonality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2003. Vol. 29, no. 10, pp. 1207—1220.
  15. Barnea M., Schwartz S.H. Values and voting. Political Psychology, 1998. Vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 17—40.
  16. Braithwaite V. Harmony and Security Value Orientations in Political Evaluation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1997. Vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 401—414.
  17. Caprara G.V. The personalization of modern politics. European Review, 2007. Vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 151—164.
  18. Caprara G.V., Zimbardo P. Personalizing politics. American Psychologist, 2004. Vol. 59, no. 7, pp. 581—594. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.59.7.581
  19. Caprara G.V., Schwartz S.Н., Capanna C., Vecchione M., Barbaranelli C. Рersonality and politics: Values, traits, and political choice. Political psychology, 2006. Vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 1—28.
  20. Caprara G.V., Vecchione M., Schwartz S.H. Why People Do Not Vote: The Role of Personal Values. European psychologist, 2012. Vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 266—278. doi: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000099
  21. Conover P.J., Feldman S. The origins and meaning of liberal/conservative self-iden- tifications. American Journal of Political Science, 1981. Vol. 25, no.4, pp. 617—645. . doi: 10.2307/2110756
  22. Devos T., Spini D., Schwartz S.H. Conflicts Among Human Values and Trust in In- stitutions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 2002. Vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 481—494. doi: 10.1348/014466602321149849
  23. Feldman S. Values, ideology, and structure of political attitudes. In D.O. Sears, L. Huddy R. Jervis (Eds.). Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003, pp. 477—508.
  24. Jacoby W.G. The structure of ideological thinking in the American public. American Journal of Political Science, 1995. Vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 314—335. doi: 10.2307/2111615
  25. Leimgruber P. Values and votes: the indirect effect of personal values on voting behav- ior. Swiss Political Science Review, 2011. Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 107—127. doi: 10.1111/j.1662- 6370.2011.02009.x
  26. McCann J.A. Electoral choices and core value change: The 1992 presidential cam- paign. American Journal of Political Science, 1997. Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 564—583.
  27. Schwartz S.H. Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advanc- es and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in experimental social psychology, 1992. Vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 1—65.
  28. Schwartz S.H. Beyond individualism/collectivism: New cultural dimensions of val- ues. In Kim U., Triandis H.C., Kagitcibasi C., Choi S.-C., Yoon G. (Eds.). Individual- ism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 1994, pp. 85—119.
  29. Schwartz S.H. Are there universal aspects in the content and structure of values? Journal of Social Issues, 1994. Vol. 50, № 4, P. 19—45. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994. tb01196.x
  30. Schwartz S.H. Basic human values: Theory, measurement, and applications. Revue Française de Sociologie, 2006. Vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 249—288.
  31. Schwartz S.H., Caprara G.V., Vecchione M. Basic personal values, core political val- ues and voting: A longitudinal analysis. Political Psychology, 2010. Vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 421— 452.  doi:  10.1111/j.1467-9221.2010.00764.x
  32. Schwartz S.H., Cieciuch J., Vecchione M., Davidov E., Fischer R., Beierlein C., Ra- mos A., Verkasalo M., Lonnqvist J., Demirutku K., Dirilen-Gumus O., Konty M. Refining the Theory of Basic Individual Values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2012. Vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 663—688. doi: 10.1037/a0029393
  33. Schwartz S.H., Butenko T. Values and behavior: Validating the refined value theory in Russia. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2014. Vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 799—813. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2053
  34. Sturgis P. Party allegiance and core political value change [Elektronnyi resurs]. ESRC Research Methods Programme Working Paper. 2003. URL: http://epubs.surrey. ac.uk/1865/1/fulltext.pdf  (Accessed  10.02.2016)
  35. Vecchione M., Caprara G., Dentale F., Schwartz S.H. Voting and values: Reciprocal effects over time. Political Psychology, 2013. Vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 465—485. doi: 10.1111/ pops.12011

Information About the Authors

Alexander N. Tatarko, Doctor of Psychology, Director of the Centre for Sociocultural Research , National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7557-9107, e-mail: tatarko@yandex.ru

Metrics

Views

Total: 3124
Previous month: 19
Current month: 9

Downloads

Total: 2319
Previous month: 16
Current month: 11