Abstract

Past research indicates that support for conservatism increases when individuals perceive threat to their group’s social status – i.e., prestige and respect. However, the causal link between status threat and increased electoral support for conservative candidates has not been established. Most prior studies rely on observational data, and it remains unclear how the effect of status threat on candidate support varies depending on the specific conservative policies adopted by candidates. Additionally, previous research has not fully addressed whether and how these effects are constrained by voters’ party loyalty. This article investigates these questions by conducting a joint experiment combining vignette and conjoint designs. White Americans were randomly exposed to status threat communication, and then choose between different hypothetical candidates with varying degrees of conservatism on various issues. The results show large effects of candidates’ issue positions and partisanship, but very little effect of status threat.

Keywords: status threat; social status; support for conservatives; voting behavior; online experiment; vignette

Ferrari D, Smith BA. Status Threat, Partisanship, and Voters’ Conservative Shift Toward Right-Wing Candidates. Journal of Experimental Political Science. Published online 2025:1-15. doi:10.1017/XPS.2025.10006