How Out-Party Cues Cause Citizens to Shift Their Policy Preferences

Do out-party cues polarise? More precisely, do citizens turn away from policy viewpoints when they are confronted with information indicating that these viewpoints are supported by a political party they dislike? The answer to this question is contested in the literature. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate by examining the mechanisms that lead people to respond negatively to out-party cues in the absence of in-party cues. Using data from a survey experiment in Belgium, the study suggests that two distinct mechanisms are at play. The effect is partly indirect: being exposed to out-party cues makes citizens (sometimes incorrectly) update their assumptions of the policy position of their own party, and this explains their subsequent opinion change. There is also a direct effect, however: citizens dissociate themselves from the out-party and, consequently, move to an opposing policy position. Additionally, the paper examines the significance of the degree of dislike. The results show that not much aversion is needed for partisan electorates to polarise.