Red and blue states: dichotomized maps mislead and reduce perceived voting influence.

ABSTRACT: In the United States the color red has come to represent the Republican party, and blue the Democratic party, in maps of voting patterns. Here we test the hypothesis that voting maps dichotomized into red and blue states leads people to overestimate political polarization compared to maps in which states are represented with continuous gradations of color. We also tested whether any polarizing effect is due to partisan semantic associations with red and blue, or if alternative hues produce similar effects. In Study 1, participants estimated the hypothetical voting patterns of eight swing states on maps with dichotomous or continuous red/blue or orange/green color schemes. A continuous gradient mitigated the polarizing effects of red/blue maps on voting predictions. We also found that a nov

SUBMITTER: Furrer RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9908792 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature