Submission 174
The enforcement of political norms
P1-G08-05
Presented by: Amalia Alvarez Benjumea
Political institutions play a vital role in shaping societal norms and cultural expectations—effects that often persist well beyond the lifespan of the institutions themselves. In democracies, norms not only define acceptable behaviors and preferences but also serve to discourage ideologies that conflict with democratic values, such as support for radical-right parties. In this context, our study explores how these political norms are enforced in everyday social interactions. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that visible cues of far-right affiliation—like wearing a Vox t-shirt—elicit negative social responses, thereby upholding these democratic cultural norms.
We present findings from a field experiment conducted in Madrid between September 23rd and October 3rd, 2024, examining how political affiliation cues influence everyday interactions. In our study, confederates—balanced across gender and dressed in neutral clothing—approached passers-by to ask for directions while wearing t-shirts bearing the logos of various political parties. Our design included five conditions: a control (white t-shirt), a far-right cue (Vox), and additional cues for a conservative party (PP), a center-left party (PSOE), and a left-wing party (Sumar), allowing us to distinguish the specific effects of far-right signaling from generic partisan identification.
To ensure robust causal inference, we cross-randomized key elements including location, time slot, t-shirt condition, and the confederate engaging with passers-by. Data were collected at four strategically chosen locations in Madrid—areas with left-majority, right-majority, and balanced political leanings—with outcomes systematically coded by research assistants. Additionally, participant selection was randomized (every 8th person, or every 5th during rush hour), resulting in balanced groups on observed characteristics. The experiment was pre-registered with EGAP via OSF and received ethics approval from the University of Oxford. Preliminary analyses, controlling for potential confounding via confederate fixed effects, reveal no evidence of differential attrition across conditions.
Our experiment shows that wearing a far-right (Vox) t-shirt leads to noticeably less positive interactions. Compared to a neutral white t-shirt, confederates in the Vox condition experienced a 0.22 standard deviation drop in overall interaction positivity (p = 0.015). Specifically, passers-by were 5 percentage points more likely to refuse interaction, 1.6 percentage points more likely to comment negatively on the t-shirt, 9 percentage points less likely to say goodbye, and 10 percentage points less likely to smile. Although these negative effects are somewhat smaller when compared to other party cues, they nonetheless persist.
Overall, our study contributes to the understanding of how visible political cues shape interpersonal interactions in public spaces, offering novel insights into political signaling and polarization in everyday life.
We present findings from a field experiment conducted in Madrid between September 23rd and October 3rd, 2024, examining how political affiliation cues influence everyday interactions. In our study, confederates—balanced across gender and dressed in neutral clothing—approached passers-by to ask for directions while wearing t-shirts bearing the logos of various political parties. Our design included five conditions: a control (white t-shirt), a far-right cue (Vox), and additional cues for a conservative party (PP), a center-left party (PSOE), and a left-wing party (Sumar), allowing us to distinguish the specific effects of far-right signaling from generic partisan identification.
To ensure robust causal inference, we cross-randomized key elements including location, time slot, t-shirt condition, and the confederate engaging with passers-by. Data were collected at four strategically chosen locations in Madrid—areas with left-majority, right-majority, and balanced political leanings—with outcomes systematically coded by research assistants. Additionally, participant selection was randomized (every 8th person, or every 5th during rush hour), resulting in balanced groups on observed characteristics. The experiment was pre-registered with EGAP via OSF and received ethics approval from the University of Oxford. Preliminary analyses, controlling for potential confounding via confederate fixed effects, reveal no evidence of differential attrition across conditions.
Our experiment shows that wearing a far-right (Vox) t-shirt leads to noticeably less positive interactions. Compared to a neutral white t-shirt, confederates in the Vox condition experienced a 0.22 standard deviation drop in overall interaction positivity (p = 0.015). Specifically, passers-by were 5 percentage points more likely to refuse interaction, 1.6 percentage points more likely to comment negatively on the t-shirt, 9 percentage points less likely to say goodbye, and 10 percentage points less likely to smile. Although these negative effects are somewhat smaller when compared to other party cues, they nonetheless persist.
Overall, our study contributes to the understanding of how visible political cues shape interpersonal interactions in public spaces, offering novel insights into political signaling and polarization in everyday life.