Bonds of Iron and Partisanship:  The Use of Partisan Cues and Oppositional Projection in Consumption Behavior

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/2v23vt93p

Abstract

Partisan cues are incredibly influential in evaluating public policy, and oppositional projection influences the way in which individuals estimate attitudes, beliefs, and preferences for in-group members as well as out-group members. The research at hand investigates the role of political cues and oppositional projection in the realm of consumption behavior. The present study measures how individuals craft music playlists for themselves and others when exposed to partisan cues for the ‘other’ person and the potential artists. The results from the multiple regression analysis suggest individuals use their own political stance to choose artists to listen to, use political cues from the ‘other’ person to craft a playlist for them, and if the individual matches with the ‘other’ person in political stance, then they will project their preferences onto the ‘other’ person. These findings suggest that political cues and groups influence life outside of the political realm and have ramifications for how the different groups perceive and interact with each other.

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