The Emotional Underpinnings of Populism : how Anger and Fear Affect Populist Attitudes
Rico, Guillem (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Política i de Dret Públic)
Guinjoan Cesena, Marc (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Política i de Dret Públic)
Anduiza, Eva (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Política i de Dret Públic)

Date:	2017
Abstract:	Popular accounts of populist movements often point to negative emotions as a key motivating factor underlying their support. However, little systematic research has been devoted to examining differences in how distinct negative emotions affect levels of populism among voters. This paper attempts to fill this gap by focusing on the influence of the two emotions most frequently connected to populism in political commentary: fear and anger. Informed by appraisal theories of emotions, we hypothesize that populist attitudes are driven by feelings of anger, rather than fear. Using a three-wave online panel survey of Spanish citizens between 2014 and 2016, we find that anger expressed over the economic crisis is consistently associated with variations in support for populism both between individuals and over time, whereas no significant effects emerge for expressions of fear. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the nature of populist support.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CSO2014-52950-R
Note:	Altres ajuts: Ramon y Cajal (RYC-2012-09861)
Rights:	Aquest material està protegit per drets d'autor i/o drets afins. Podeu utilitzar aquest material en funció del que permet la legislació de drets d'autor i drets afins d'aplicació al vostre cas. Per a d'altres usos heu d'obtenir permís del(s) titular(s) de drets.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Populist attitudes ; Spain ; Public opinion ; Political psychology
Published in:	Swiss political science review, Vol. 23 (2017) , p. 444-461, ISSN 1662-6370
Related work:	Pannico, Roberto; Tomic, Damjan; Gutiérrez Zárate, Laura; Comellas Bonsfills, Josep Maria; Hernández, Enrique; Galais, Carol; Rico, Guillem; Marinova, Dani; Muñoz, Jordi; Hierro, María José; Barbet, Berta; Anduiza, Eva, 2024, "POLAT Panel. Spanish Political Attitudes Dataset (12 waves)". CORA.Repositori de Dades de Recerca https://doi.org/10.34810/data1486

DOI: 10.1111/spsr.12261

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