The Effects of Political Arguments on Voting Decisions (Lukas Stoetzer and Denise Traber)

In this research paper, we examine the impact of political arguments on voter decision-making in democracy. Understanding how political arguments influence political preferences and how these effects carry over to the election of representatives is crucial for comprehending the functioning of democracy. To study this, we conduct a combined experiment, utilizing a persuasion experiment using policy arguments and a conjoint experiment, in which participants are asked to choose between two candidates who differ in various policy positions. We also distinguish between the persuasive effect of political arguments, which changes the direction of political preferences, and the priming effect of arguments, which alters the importance of policy preferences. Our findings suggest that persuasion plays a more significant role in shaping voter decision-making. The results of our research have important implications for the role of political arguments in democracy, political campaigns, and party competition.