http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081030/pl_politico/15070
Academics who have spent years researching the nexus of polling and voter behavior say that it takes a change in poll numbers to get voters jumping on board â or at least thinking about it. If the tide turns toward a candidate, persuadable â but previously unpersuaded â voters begin to ask what theyâve been missing.
"There will be somebody in the end who says, 'I don't want to vote for him because he's black, but McCain's going to lose so I'll vote for him to tell my grandkids I did,'" Popkin said.
To analyze the nuances of the bandwagon theory, Diana C. Mutz, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, presented study subjects with descriptions of candidates and then told them that they had varying levels of popularity. Told that a candidate was popular, the theoretical voters would explain the popularity by focusing on the candidate's strengths. "We naturally try to explain our environment," said Mutz.
Academics who have spent years researching the nexus of polling and voter behavior say that it takes a change in poll numbers to get voters jumping on board â or at least thinking about it. If the tide turns toward a candidate, persuadable â but previously unpersuaded â voters begin to ask what theyâve been missing.
"There will be somebody in the end who says, 'I don't want to vote for him because he's black, but McCain's going to lose so I'll vote for him to tell my grandkids I did,'" Popkin said.
To analyze the nuances of the bandwagon theory, Diana C. Mutz, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, presented study subjects with descriptions of candidates and then told them that they had varying levels of popularity. Told that a candidate was popular, the theoretical voters would explain the popularity by focusing on the candidate's strengths. "We naturally try to explain our environment," said Mutz.