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Principal investigator:
Sparsha Saha
Harvard University
Email: saha@fas.harvard.edu
Homepage: https://undergrad.gov.harvard.edu/people/sparsha-saha
Sample size: 2116
Field period: 11/25/2020-03/23/2021
Politicians who put the environmental costs of meat on the political agenda are more likely to be electorally punished than those who do not, or who focus on the environmental costs of transportation.
b. Republicans will be even less supportive than Democrats.
Politicians who put the ethical costs of meat (animal rights) on the political agenda are more likely to be electorally punished than those who do not, or who focus on the environmental costs of transportation, or who bring up the environmental costs of meat.
No firm expectations for mediators, but I test three possible ones: likability (cognitive dissonance), power (anthropocentric norms violating), and morality (anthropocentric norms violations).
Politicians who put the ethical costs of meat (animal rights) on the political agenda will be more likely to avoid electoral punishment than those who bring up the environmental costs of meat.
b. No differences between parties.
Democratic politicians who put the environmental costs of meat on the political agenda will be more likely to avoid electoral punishment as strength of Democratic party affiliation increases among respondents.
General Instructions
“You will next be asked to read a short speech by a hypothetical political candidate running for President from your party. After you read this speech, you will then be asked to indicate how you feel about the candidate.”
Instructions above text:
“Please read the following speech made by a candidate named Tom Larson, who imagine is running in your party's presidential primary (please read carefully): ”
Condition 1: Control Group Treatment
“Thank you all for being here. This is just incredibly humbling. Thank you.
For each of us, I believe, there is common ground. And that’s the ground we need to cultivate.
On the economy, to fix what’s wrong, we have to be honest with ourselves — people are hurting out there. All we need to do is make sure the rules apply to everyone.
On foreign policy, the U.S. military must continue to be the greatest in the world. So, while the Defense Department must justify every line item of taxpayer money, we have to realize that a safe and stable world doesn’t come cheap.
On health care, let’s fix what’s broken and make sure that working Americans can actually access and afford the health care they deserve.
On immigration, we can fix our immigration system and remain a strong, secure nation in the process.
Look, those are just a few of the places where we know we can make progress. But for us to do something, I need you to vote. I ask you to stand with me. Join me. And together, we’ll build the country we know we can be. Thank you, and may God bless America.”
Condition 2: Control Group Treatment for ENVIRONMENT
“Thank you all for being here. This is just incredibly humbling. Thank you. For each of us, I believe, there is common ground. And that’s the ground we need to cultivate.
On the economy, to fix what’s wrong, we have to be honest with ourselves — people are hurting out there. All we need to do is make sure the rules apply to everyone.
On foreign policy, the U.S. military must continue to be the greatest in the world. So, while the Defense Department must justify every line item of taxpayer money, we have to realize that a safe and stable world doesn’t come cheap.
On health care, let’s fix what’s broken and make sure that working Americans can actually access and afford the health care they deserve.
On immigration, we can fix our immigration system and remain a strong, secure nation in the process.
Finally, on the environment, we know that transportation plays a huge role in climate change. And, that's why it's time for us to work together as a nation to reduce our reliance on gasoline- powered vehicles and focus on solutions like public transportation and electric cars instead.
Look, those are just a few of the places where we know we can make progress. But for us to do something, I need you to vote. I ask you to stand with me. Join me. And together, we’ll build the country we know we can be. Thank you, and may God bless America.”
Condition 3: Animals-Environment Treatment
“Thank you all for being here. This is just incredibly humbling. Thank you. For each of us, I believe, there is common ground. And that’s the ground we need to cultivate.
On the economy, to fix what’s wrong, we have to be honest with ourselves — people are hurting out there. All we need to do is make sure the rules apply to everyone.
On foreign policy, the U.S. military must continue to be the greatest in the world. So, while the Defense Department must justify every line item of taxpayer money, we have to realize that a safe and stable world doesn’t come cheap.
On health care, let’s fix what’s broken and make sure that working Americans can actually access and afford the health care they deserve.
On immigration, we can fix our immigration system and remain a strong, secure nation in the process.
Finally, on the environment, we know that meat consumption plays a huge role in climate change. And, that's why it's time for us to work together as a nation to reduce our reliance on meat and dairy and focus on solutions like plant-based foods and artificial meats instead.
Look, those are just a few of the places where we know we can make progress. But for us to do something, I need you to vote. I ask you to stand with me. Join me. And together, we’ll build the country we know we can be. Thank you, and may God bless America.”
Condition 4: Animals-Politics Treatment
“Thank you all for being here. This is just incredibly humbling. Thank you. For each of us, I believe, there is common ground. And that’s the ground we need to cultivate.
On the economy, to fix what’s wrong, we have to be honest with ourselves — people are hurting out there. All we need to do is make sure the rules apply to everyone.
On foreign policy, the U.S. military must continue to be the greatest in the world. So, while the Defense Department must justify every line item of taxpayer money, we have to realize that a safe and stable world doesn’t come cheap.
On health care, let’s fix what’s broken and make sure that working Americans can actually access and afford the health care they deserve.
On immigration, we can fix our immigration system and remain a strong, secure nation in the process.
Finally, on animal rights, we know that animals deserve proper protection. Our nation should work toward clearly defining the limits of how animals – particularly farm animals – may be treated and what they can be used for.
Look, those are just a few of the places where we know we can make progress. But for us to do something, I need you to vote. I ask you to stand with me. Join me. And together, we’ll build the country we know we can be. Thank you, and may God bless America.”
Unit 2: Post-Treatment Survey Question: Candidate Evaluation
Thinking about this candidate, how do the following phrases describe them?
“This candidate is immoral”
“This candidate is likeable”
“This candidate is a weak leader”
(Respondents rate phrases on a 0-10 scale ranging from ‘Not at all well’ to ‘Extremely well.’)
Unit 3: Post-Treatment Survey Question: Candidate Support
As above, imagine this candidate is running in a presidential primary election. How likely would you be to vote for this candidate to be a nominee for President? Please use the scale below to indicate.
Respondents use a 1-7 scale ranging from ‘Definitely would NOT vote for’ to ‘Definitely would vote for’ to indicate their level of support.
Overall, there is evidence of backlash when a politician puts the environmental costs of meat on the agenda (p <0.01). When compared to the control, the backlash is driven by Republicans (p <0.01). When compared to the environmental costs of transportation, parties behave similarly, so the levels of electoral punishment are similar.
Overall, there is no evidence of backlash when a politician puts the ethical costs of meat on the agenda. There are no differences between parties (Democrats and Republicans) in this lack of backlash.
There is more evidence that backlash in the meat-environment condition is driven by cognitive dissonance (dislike) than moral or power-related backlash related to violations of anthropocentric norms. Stronger indirect effects through the cognitive dissonance mediator (likability) exist for Republicans than Democrats (p <0.05).