PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF VOTER ATTITUDES - INFORMATION FORMAT AND PERSONALLY-RELEVANT COST ESTIMATES

We investigated memory for and attitudes towards complex topics using election bond propositions as stimulus passages. In order to examine t he effect of information format, we varied the way the bond propositio n was presented (prose and outline) and the way the cost information w as provided (cost for the state and cost for the state plus cost for t he average household). As expected, when a sample of adults (N = 129) read the information in outline format, they read the passages much mo re quickly, with no change in the number of facts recalled or in ratin gs of how well they comprehended the information. Subjects were less l ikely to endorse a bond proposition when they were told that it would cost them personally $4 to $10 per year in addition to information abo ut the cost to the state than when given information only about costs to the state. Subjects also recalled more facts about the proposition when cost information was made personal. Although these findings need to be regarded as tentative, they have important implications for many real-world decisions.