Clothes Make the Man: First Impressions and Information Search

• In Event: Experiments in Information and Accountability

Abstract

Voting choice models assume that information about political candidates is complete and weighted in some form so that voters can choose optimally among different candidates. However, voters are time-constrained and do not typically seek full information. In this study, we analyze the use of search heuristics that allows voters to make optimal decisions quickly and efficiently through searches that involve minimal information. We design an experiment where participants have a limited time to seek information about candidates, and we track the information subjects chose to look up. Experimental results shed light on what type of search heuristics participants use; how much information they gather, and in which sequence. We find that individuals search adaptively: as they uncover information about a candidate that they disagree with, the likelihood of looking up information for that candidate again dramatically decreases.

Authors

• Anna Bassi, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Tyler Steelman, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill