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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
How Do Information and Cues AffectCitizens’ Election Forecasts?
Thomas J. LeeperDavide MorisiRune Slothuus
Government Department ColloquiumLondon School of Economics and Political Science
2 May 2017
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Most of my research has tried to understandhow citizens form opinions about policy issues.
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Most of my research has tried to understandhow citizens form opinions about policy issues.
My focus has been on information and cues.
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Most of my research has tried to understandhow citizens form opinions about policy issues.
My focus has been on information and cues.
Do these factors affect other outcomes ofinterest to political behavior researchers?
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
1 Background
2 Empirics
3 Study 1
4 Study 2
5 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
1 Background
2 Empirics
3 Study 1
4 Study 2
5 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Election Forecasts
Election forecasts are a hobby for manypolitical scientists, journalists, and others
They matter for a variety of reasons:Can shape campaigning strategiesInfluence journalistic narratives aboutelectionsShape individual attitudes, behavior, andsocial interactions
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Election Forecasts
How do they traditionally work?1 Polling firms sample individuals from the
population2 Respondents report their vote intention3 Those data are aggregated and modelled to
generate a forecast
Yet such efforts do not necessarily captureall information that citizens might haveabout an election
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Election Forecasts
How do they traditionally work?1 Polling firms sample individuals from the
population2 Respondents report their vote intention3 Those data are aggregated and modelled to
generate a forecast
Yet such efforts do not necessarily captureall information that citizens might haveabout an election
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Election Forecasts
What might citizen know?Information about other citizens’ viewsHow certain or uncertain their own views areExpectations about forthcoming events in acampaignTheir or others’ turnout propensities
Traditional forecasts thus miss someinformation, therefore:
1 Betting markets2 Citizen forecasting
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Election Forecasts
What might citizen know?Information about other citizens’ viewsHow certain or uncertain their own views areExpectations about forthcoming events in acampaignTheir or others’ turnout propensities
Traditional forecasts thus miss someinformation, therefore:
1 Betting markets2 Citizen forecasting
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Citizen Forecasts ICitizen forecasts involve measuringperceptions rather than opinions
Ask citizens what they expect others to doAsk citizens what they expect an electionoutcome to be
Questions can be discrete or continuous1 What percentage of citizens will vote for Britain
to Leave the EU?2 Do you expect Britain will vote to leave the EU
or vote to remain in the EU?
These expectations are aggregated toproduce a forecast
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Citizen Forecasts ICitizen forecasts involve measuringperceptions rather than opinions
Ask citizens what they expect others to doAsk citizens what they expect an electionoutcome to be
Questions can be discrete or continuous1 What percentage of citizens will vote for Britain
to Leave the EU?2 Do you expect Britain will vote to leave the EU
or vote to remain in the EU?
These expectations are aggregated toproduce a forecast
![Page 15: How Do Information and Cues Affect Citizens' Election ... · 5/2/2017 · BackgroundEmpiricsStudy1Study2Conclusion ElectionForecasts Electionforecastsareahobbyformany politicalscientists,journalists,andothers](https://reader034.vdocument.in/reader034/viewer/2022042915/5f53845ea41d6060453460f3/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Citizen Forecasts ICitizen forecasts involve measuringperceptions rather than opinions
Ask citizens what they expect others to doAsk citizens what they expect an electionoutcome to be
Questions can be discrete or continuous1 What percentage of citizens will vote for Britain
to Leave the EU?2 Do you expect Britain will vote to leave the EU
or vote to remain in the EU?
These expectations are aggregated toproduce a forecast
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Beyond “Atomic” ModelsMost research assumes “atomic” citizens
Exceptions to this:Network studies (Huckfeldt and Sprague;Mutz)Deliberation experiments (Karpowitz andMendelberg)Normative behaviour experiments (Bolsen;Gerber, Green, and Larimer)
But citizens are necessarily embedded in a socialcontext that seems likely to shape their beliefs
We are interested in how citizens understand thosesocial contexts
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Beyond “Atomic” ModelsMost research assumes “atomic” citizens
Exceptions to this:Network studies (Huckfeldt and Sprague;Mutz)Deliberation experiments (Karpowitz andMendelberg)Normative behaviour experiments (Bolsen;Gerber, Green, and Larimer)
But citizens are necessarily embedded in a socialcontext that seems likely to shape their beliefs
We are interested in how citizens understand thosesocial contexts
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Beyond “Atomic” ModelsMost research assumes “atomic” citizens
Exceptions to this:Network studies (Huckfeldt and Sprague;Mutz)Deliberation experiments (Karpowitz andMendelberg)Normative behaviour experiments (Bolsen;Gerber, Green, and Larimer)
But citizens are necessarily embedded in a socialcontext that seems likely to shape their beliefs
We are interested in how citizens understand thosesocial contexts
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Our Contribution
Focus on citizen forecasts as an outcome
Attempt to understand how informationand cues affect those forecasts
Information: a message or argument receivedby a citizenCues: information about position-taking byelites or others
Provide a descriptive analysis of the factorsrelated to these forecasts and theaccuracy thereof
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Our Contribution
Focus on citizen forecasts as an outcome
Attempt to understand how informationand cues affect those forecasts
Information: a message or argument receivedby a citizenCues: information about position-taking byelites or others
Provide a descriptive analysis of the factorsrelated to these forecasts and theaccuracy thereof
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Our Contribution
Focus on citizen forecasts as an outcome
Attempt to understand how informationand cues affect those forecasts
Information: a message or argument receivedby a citizenCues: information about position-taking byelites or others
Provide a descriptive analysis of the factorsrelated to these forecasts and theaccuracy thereof
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Our Contribution
Focus on citizen forecasts as an outcome
Attempt to understand how informationand cues affect those forecasts
Information: a message or argument receivedby a citizenCues: information about position-taking byelites or others
Provide a descriptive analysis of the factorsrelated to these forecasts and theaccuracy thereof
![Page 23: How Do Information and Cues Affect Citizens' Election ... · 5/2/2017 · BackgroundEmpiricsStudy1Study2Conclusion ElectionForecasts Electionforecastsareahobbyformany politicalscientists,journalists,andothers](https://reader034.vdocument.in/reader034/viewer/2022042915/5f53845ea41d6060453460f3/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Aside: Social cues as “attitudinal norms”
Attitudinal norms“widespread viewpoints held by members ofa social group”A form of “impersonal influence”Cues about group rather than elite attitudes
Driven by inherent needs for belongingness(Baumeister and Leary 1995)
Very little research on downstreamconsequences of this form of impersonalinfluence (until Sara and I started workingon it)
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Aside: Social cues as “attitudinal norms”
Attitudinal norms“widespread viewpoints held by members ofa social group”A form of “impersonal influence”Cues about group rather than elite attitudes
Driven by inherent needs for belongingness(Baumeister and Leary 1995)Very little research on downstreamconsequences of this form of impersonalinfluence (until Sara and I started workingon it)
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
1 Background
2 Empirics
3 Study 1
4 Study 2
5 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
This Project
Case study: 2016 referendum on Britain’smembership of the EU
Panel survey (BES)Assess the accuracy (prediction error) ofcitizen forecastsDescriptively characterize the factors thatshape forecasts and the accuracy thereof
ExperimentAttempt to measure the size of effects ofinformation and cues
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Outcome Measures I
1 Overall forecast for election outcomeRescaled 0 to 1Higher values = Remain
2 Error in that forecast:
Errori = (Forecasti − 0.48)2
3 In-party forecast (how your party will vote)
4 In-party forecast error
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Outcome Measures IIWe know overall results from officialelection records
Party-specific results have to be estimatedfrom data
Party BES (w) BES (uw) YouGovConservative 0.36 0.34 0.29Labour 0.63 0.66 0.65LibDem 0.73 0.75 0.68SNP 0.59 0.65 n/a
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 1: BES Analysis
Goal is to understand the factors thatinfluence citizen forecasts
Data from BESWave 7 (pre-referendum) and Wave 8 (rollingcross section)Fielded by YouGov, weighted to be nationallyrepresentativen = 16, 503
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Outcome Measures
How likely do you think it is that the UK willvote to leave the EU?
Continuous measure 0 – 1000: UK will definitely vote to remain in the EU100: UK will definitely vote to leave the EURescaled 0–1 (higher = Remain)
Do you think that other people who areclose to <PARTY> mainly want to remain inthe EU or leave the EU?
Mainly leaveMainly remainFairly evenly split
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Outcome Measures
How likely do you think it is that the UK willvote to leave the EU?
Continuous measure 0 – 1000: UK will definitely vote to remain in the EU100: UK will definitely vote to leave the EURescaled 0–1 (higher = Remain)
Do you think that other people who areclose to <PARTY> mainly want to remain inthe EU or leave the EU?
Mainly leaveMainly remainFairly evenly split
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Outcome Measures
How likely do you think it is that the UK willvote to leave the EU?
Continuous measure 0 – 1000: UK will definitely vote to remain in the EU100: UK will definitely vote to leave the EURescaled 0–1 (higher = Remain)
Do you think that other people who areclose to <PARTY> mainly want to remain inthe EU or leave the EU?
Mainly leaveMainly remainFairly evenly split
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results: Explaining forecasts
Forecasts cluster around true result, slightpro-Remain bias
Wisdom of crowds?50/50 guessing?
Largest effects:Left-wing more likely to forecast RemainEducated more likely to forecast RemainConservatives more likely to forecast Remain
False consensus dynamic!
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results: Explaining Accuracy
Citizens are on average quite accurate
Smaller errors for:Leave votersPolitical right-wingConservatives and LibDemsOlder peopleHigher educationOther than White English
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results: Explaining In-PartyForecast
The descriptive results suggest citizens getthe gist of where their co-partisans stand
Unfortunately BES question is kind of crapThree-category discrete measure(leave/remain/split)
Trying to decide how to analyze this
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 1 SummaryCitizens are on average highly accurate inforecasting the referendum outcome
Various demographic factors explainforecasts and accuracy thereof
Also a “false consensus effect”
Next step: Leverage the panel design totry to pick up causal effects
Exposure to government leafletExposure to interpersonal discussionExposure to Leave and Remain campaignsAwareness of in-party MPs positions
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 1 SummaryCitizens are on average highly accurate inforecasting the referendum outcome
Various demographic factors explainforecasts and accuracy thereof
Also a “false consensus effect”
Next step: Leverage the panel design totry to pick up causal effects
Exposure to government leafletExposure to interpersonal discussionExposure to Leave and Remain campaignsAwareness of in-party MPs positions
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 1 SummaryCitizens are on average highly accurate inforecasting the referendum outcome
Various demographic factors explainforecasts and accuracy thereof
Also a “false consensus effect”
Next step: Leverage the panel design totry to pick up causal effects
Exposure to government leafletExposure to interpersonal discussionExposure to Leave and Remain campaignsAwareness of in-party MPs positions
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 2: Survey Experiment
Goal is to assess the degree to whichinformation and cues affect forecasts andforecast error
Basic design:Supply a mass cue or elite cueSupply pro-leave or pro-remain argumentsMeasure overall forecast and in-party forecast
Fielded w/ YouGov Omnibus05/30 – 02/06/2016
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Experimental Design
Elite Cue Mass CueNone n=299 320Remain Argument 321 352Leave Argument 288 320
Also “pure” control group (n=151)Also cue ambiguity factor (ignored here)Arguments pilot tested through Prolific
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Partisan Composition of Sample
Experimental data only for supporters ofpro-Remain parties
Party identification drawn from YouGovprofile data
Conservative 901 (43.2%)Labour 856 (41.0%)LibDem 249 (11.9%)SNP 82 (3.9%)
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
We would now like to know what you expect the resultsof the referendum will be, expressed as a percent. Apercent can be thought of as the number of votes outof 100. For example, a number like 5 percent means 5out of every 100 votes will be for “leave”, 50 percentmeans 50 out of every 100 votes will be for “leave,” and95 percent means 95 out of everyone 100 votes will befor “leave.”
Regardless of how you yourself intend to vote, whatpercent of voters do you anticipate will vote forBritain to leave the European Union? (Please entera number between 0 and 100.)
What about <PARTY> voters? What percent of<PARTY> voters do you anticipate will vote forBritain to leave the European Union? (Please entera number between 0 and 100.)
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Treatment: Elite Cue Only
When deciding how to vote in the upcomingreferendum on Britain’s membership of the EuropeanUnion, many voters want to know where their preferredparty stands. A clear majority of < PARTY> politiciansfavour Britain remaining in the EU.
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Treatment: Mass Cue Only
When deciding how to vote in the upcomingreferendum on Britain’s membership of the EuropeanUnion, many voters want to know where their fellowcitizens stand. Polls show a clear majority of < PARTY>voters favour Britain remaining in the EU.
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Treatment: Cue + RemainArgument
One argument being made in the debate is that the EUsafeguards British jobs because it provides access to amarket of 500 million consumers and because EUmembership attracts foreign firms keen to be part ofthat market. The attractiveness of Britain as a place toinvest is clearly underpinned by its membership of theEU. It is estimated that over three million jobs in Britainare linked, directly or indirectly, to its exports to theEuropean Union. Walking away from Europe’s singlemarket would be catastrophic for people’s jobs, andwould leave households £4,300 worse off, according toestimates. A vote to Remain would safeguard theeconomic benefits of the EU single market.
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Treatment: Cue + RemainArgument
One argument being made in the debate is that in theEU, Britain’s borders lay open to criminals and terroriststrying to enter the UK from the continent. This makes thewhole of the UK vulnerable to terrorist attacks andcrimes committed by those from abroad. At present,more than 100 EU migrants per day are convicted ofcrimes ranging from theft to rape and murder. Theserates have risen as the EU has expanded further intoEastern Europe. Outside the EU, the Westminsterparliament will regain its sovereignty and the ability tosecure the country’s borders and towns. Failure to leavenow significantly decreases public safety andendangers the British people.
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results
1 Cues and pro-Remain informationincreases expected Remain vote share
2 All treatments seem to reduce forecasterror
3 Party-specific results are noisy (obviously)
Effects on forecast error mirror these
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results
1 Cues and pro-Remain informationincreases expected Remain vote share
2 All treatments seem to reduce forecasterror
3 Party-specific results are noisy (obviously)
Effects on forecast error mirror these
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results
1 Cues and pro-Remain informationincreases expected Remain vote share
2 All treatments seem to reduce forecasterror
3 Party-specific results are noisy (obviously)
Effects on forecast error mirror these
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results
1 Cues and pro-Remain informationincreases expected Remain vote share
2 All treatments seem to reduce forecasterror
3 Party-specific results are noisy (obviously)
Effects on forecast error mirror these
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results
1 Cues and pro-Remain informationincreases expected Remain vote share
2 All treatments seem to reduce forecasterror
3 Party-specific results are noisy (obviously)
Effects on forecast error mirror these
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Results
1 Cues and pro-Remain informationincreases expected Remain vote share
2 All treatments seem to reduce forecasterror
3 Party-specific results are noisy (obviously)Effects on forecast error mirror these
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 2 Summary
Information and cues both seem to beable to move citizen forecasts
This isn’t necessarily a good thing becausethat movement doesn’t necessarilyimprove the accuracy of these forecasts
Any wisdom in crowds?Size of one-off impersonal influence is smallCitizen forecasts don’t seem to just parrot elitecommunications
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Study 2 Summary
Information and cues both seem to beable to move citizen forecasts
This isn’t necessarily a good thing becausethat movement doesn’t necessarilyimprove the accuracy of these forecasts
Any wisdom in crowds?Size of one-off impersonal influence is smallCitizen forecasts don’t seem to just parrot elitecommunications
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
1 Background
2 Empirics
3 Study 1
4 Study 2
5 Conclusion
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Background Empirics Study 1 Study 2 Conclusion
Conclusion
Citizen forecasts are reflect a falseconsensus dynamic
Citizen forecasts are somewhat sensitive toelite cues and information but the effectsare small
Some citizens have social informationabout their groups and society as a whole
Limitations to an atomic model in politicalbehavior research
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