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Negativity bias and political preferences: A response to commentators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2014

John R. Hibbing ,
Kevin B. Smith  and
John R. Alford
John R. Hibbing
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588. jhibbing@unl.eduksmith1@unl.eduwww.unl.edu/polphyslab
Kevin B. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588. jhibbing@unl.eduksmith1@unl.eduwww.unl.edu/polphyslab
John R. Alford
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251. jra@rice.edu
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Abstract

A broad, multidisciplinary empirical literature reports that individual-level differences in psychology and biology map onto variation in political orientation. In our target article we argued that negativity bias can explain a surprisingly large share of these findings. The commentators generally support the negativity bias hypothesis but suggest theoretical and empirical revisions and refinements. In this response, we organize these proposals, suggestions, and criticisms into four thematic categories and assess their potential for furthering theories and empirical investigations of the bases for individual-variation in political ideology.

Type
Authors' Response
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 333 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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