Measuring Morality in Political Attitude Expression

Abstract

This study explores whether and how individuals evoke moral considerations when discussing their political beliefs. Analyzing open-ended responses in the 2012 American National Election Study (ANES) using a previously validated dictionary, I find systematic ideological differences in moral reasoning - even when respondents are not explicitly asked about morality. The study proceeds to show that the reliance on moral considerations in attitude expression is conditional on the moral content of individual media environments.