Measuring the Direction and Strength of Partisanship

• In Event: Expressive Partisanship in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Partisanship is one of the most widely used variables in political science research. However, little attention has been devoted to its measurement. In this paper, we discuss the different ways in which partisan direction and strength have been measured, introduce the concept of partisan identity, and evaluate the measurement of partisan identity direction and strength drawing on data from several large-scale national surveys that have included a multi-item battery of partisan identity questions. Data are drawn from the US, UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands. We validate different partisanship measures including an identity scale and traditional measures of partisanship by examining their association with political outcomes. The measurement properties and stability over-time of these measures are also assessed. Based on an identity approach to the study of partisanship, we recommend measuring partisan direction inclusively and provide evidence that partisan preferences can be underestimated with current measures. We then show that a fine-grained measure of partisan identity is a superior predictor of political behavior, such as political interest and political action, than standard measures of partisan intensity.

Authors

• Leonie Huddy, SUNY, Stony Brook

• Caitlin Davies, Stony Brook University