(Mis)perception of party congruence and satisfaction with democracy

Carroll, R., Liao, Y.-C. and Tang, L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7119-3186 (2024) (Mis)perception of party congruence and satisfaction with democracy. Political Science Research and Methods. ISSN 2049-8489 doi: 10.1017/psrm.2024.48

Abstract/Summary

This study examines how voters’ perceptions of ideological incongruence with political parties affect their satisfaction with democracy. Using panel data from the British Election Study, we first demonstrate that greater misperception of party positions correlates with higher perceived ideological distance from one’s preferred party. We then show that this increased perceived incongruence is associated with lower satisfaction with democracy when controlling for objective measures of incongruence. These findings are consistent across several alternative measures and specifications, and similar results are found in cross-sectional data from Europe. The results suggest that subjective perceptions of representation, poten- tially distorted by misperceptions, play a role in shaping citizens’ attitudes toward the political system. While the limitations of the study warrant caution in interpretation, the study contributes to the literature by highlighting the importance of perceived ideological congruence for understanding the link between representation and satisfaction with democracy.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/120832
Identification Number/DOI	10.1017/psrm.2024.48
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Economics
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
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