arbiter
JournalsAccount

Reference groups and electoral behavior

Rune Stubager et al.

European Journal of Political Research2026https://doi.org/10.1017/s1475676526100760article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Recent scholarship devotes considerable attention to how social identities influence vote choice. However, group sympathies or group affect constitute another, often overlooked subjective component of the relationship between social groups and vote choice. Based on reference group theory and drawing on ANES data as well as recent Danish and Austrian election surveys, we examine how voters’ sympathies with a range of groups are related to party choice across time and space. We find that group sympathies are related to vote choice in all three countries, even when controlling for objective group memberships and social identities. Across time, most relationships are stable or strengthening and comparable in strength to the relationship between group memberships and party choice. The relationship between group sympathies and vote choice is, furthermore, conditioned by perceived linkages between groups and parties. Hence, analyses of the role of social groups in voting also need to include group sympathies to grasp the full influence of social groups.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s1475676526100760

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{rune2026,
  title        = {{Reference groups and electoral behavior}},
  author       = {Rune Stubager et al.},
  journal      = {European Journal of Political Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s1475676526100760},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Reference groups and electoral behavior

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.