Competence versus Warmth: How Candidates Use their Class Background in Campaigns

• In Event: Does a Candidate's Social Class Matter?

Abstract

Candidates for political office often reference their occupational background during campaigns. Research from social psychology suggests that candidates may invoke their occupational class as a way to signal certain qualities to the electorate. In particular, the stereotype content model (SCM) predicts that working-class individuals are typically viewed as “warm” and understanding, while affluent individuals are typically viewed as competent and skilled. Candidates may choose to activate these stereotypes by referencing their occupational history: for example, a working-class candidate might claim that their background gives them a deep understanding of the struggles of ordinary voters, while a white-collar candidate might claim that their background gives them policy-relevant experience and expertise.

This possibility raises a series of important questions: How can political candidates leverage class stereotypes for their electoral advantage? Should candidates play to their strengths by embracing class stereotypes or should they try to compensate with counter-stereotypical appeals? Does the success of warmth- or competence-based appeals depend on the salient policy domain?

To answer these questions, this paper will analyze the results of a survey experiment conducted on a nationally representative sample of U.S. voters. The experiment employs a conjoint design in which several features of a hypothetical election are randomized, including the class background of the candidates, whether or not class stereotypes are activated, and the salient policy domain. By asking respondents to choose their preferred candidate in a series of head-to-head “elections”, this design makes it possible to test for a rich set of interaction effects.

This study aims to contribute to the burgeoning literature in political science on the role of candidate class in campaigns. While much of the existing research treats candidate class as a fixed attribute, this paper instead focuses on how candidates can strategically invoke their class background and activate associated stereotypes. Understanding these dynamics is particularly important in light of the underrepresentation of the working class in legislatures around the world.

Author

• Sophie Hill, Harvard University