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Tsai Ing-wen was recently elected in Taiwan and is the first female president of the country. Photo: Chien Hung Lin | FlickrCC. |
The mentality of the voter is particularly relevant during
2016. With the U.S. presidential race steadily accelerating as the primary
season begins, each state will receive their time in the limelight, and the
specific voter mentality of each state will undoubtedly be discussed.
Unfortunately, all of the political smarts in the world
still can’t make for 100% accuracy when it comes to understanding election
results. But we can gain still glean some understanding of voter behavior by
examining the psychology of the voting mindset and paying attention to recent
voting trends.
Voter Mentality
in Taiwan
Taiwan’s recent presidential election is an interesting
and timely case study when considering voter mentality. Taiwan recently elected
Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of the country.
Naturally, no election of this magnitude is simple, but
Taiwan’s election was special for all of its intricacies, especially as they
relate to voter behavior. There were as
many as five different factors on the minds of voters, according to Ralph
Jennings at Forbes.
“People aren’t voting for Tsai because they think she’ll
deliver economic glory to Taiwan,” said Sean King, senior vice president of the
consultancy Park Strategies in New York and Taipei. Even though the economy is
traditionally a strong issue in and of itself, it alone could not sway voter’s
opinions, King concluded.
Jennings’s list of voter considerations includes: China
and identity politics, the Taiwanese economy, the personality of the
presidential candidate, the larger political administration that a candidate
represents, and even the tactics used to advertise a campaign to voters.
Psychology
Behind Voter Mentality
Having the background knowledge of how a brain reacts to
stimuli, especially those that occur during political campaigns, is crucial for
determining how voters will actually behave.
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Voting is habitual and habit-forming. Regardless of who you vote
for, actually getting out to vote will increase your chances of doing so in the
future. Beyond this, it is also likely that you will vote for similar
candidates in the future.
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Voting makes you feel like a part of a larger group, with social
pressures coming from many different sources. This means that many different
things can influence voters to choose one candidate or another.
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People like leaders who are confident, have expertise, seem
emotionally strong, trustworthy, optimistic, and action-focused. This is just
true for virtually every single voter!
Interested in learning more about the psychology of voting
behavior? Check out this neat and insightful article from the BBC!
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