The Political Relevance of Irrelevant Events

Do events irrelevant to politics affect citizens’ political opinions? A growing literature suggests that such events (e.g., athletic competitions, shark attacks) do in fact shape political preferences. We present an experiment that largely replicates a widely noted irrelevant event effect. Specifica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of politics 2017-01, Vol.79 (1), p.346-350
Main Authors: Busby, Ethan C., Druckman, James N., Fredendall, Alexandria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citizens
Political attitudes
Politics
Preferences
Presidential approval
Presidents
Public opinion
SHORT ARTICLE
Soccer
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Summary:Do events irrelevant to politics affect citizens’ political opinions? A growing literature suggests that such events (e.g., athletic competitions, shark attacks) do in fact shape political preferences. We present an experiment that largely replicates a widely noted irrelevant event effect. Specifically, we find that the outcome of a sporting event (i.e., a football game) affects presidential approval and likely does so by affecting individuals’ moods. We also show that the effect is short-lived.
ISSN:0022-3816
1468-2508
DOI:10.1086/688585