ELECTORAL CHOICES AND CORE VALUE CHANGE - THE 1992 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Theory: The recent scholarly literature on core political values has p aid relatively little attention to how values change over time. Drawin g on studies in social psychology that find that values are reformulat ed as individuals take on new identities and roles or process new poli tical information, I argue that choosing sides during a major national election campaign provokes shifts in core political values. Furthermo re, in keeping with Philip Converse's (1964) discussion of dynamic att itude constraint, value change following electoral mobilization is exp ected to lead to new positions regarding particular government policie s. Hypotheses: Backing Bill Clinton in 1992 led citizens to become mor e committed to egalitarianism and less attached to moral traditionalis m; the reverse is hypothesized to have occurred for supporters of Geor ge Bush. In turn, changes in levels of egalitarianism caused shifts in support for federal social welfare spending; new positions on moral t raditionalism led to changes regarding abortion policy. Methods: Maxim um likelihood (LISREL) measurement and structural models are estimated using a CPS panel survey of the mass public in 1990 and 1992. Results : As hypothesized, presidential preferences in 1992 led to changes in core value stands, even when measurement error and reciprocity between value positions and candidate choice were factored in. As the respond ents' values changed, moreover, their positions on several concrete po licy items were also significantly modified.