While social groups have long played a major role in the study of political behavior, research on political communication has only recently taken a stronger interest in group references, their mobilization by political actors, and their effects on voters. This entry reviews the current literature on group appeals, highlighting conceptual debates and distinguishing between studies that use group appeals as an independent variable to explain voter behavior and research that aims to explain the use of group appeals by political actors. The entry concludes by emphasizing new avenues for research, including conceptual clarifications and innovations potentially inspired by the party competition literature, a stronger focus on the interaction between group and policy appeals, and methodological advances.
