The Stability of Ideological Attachments Beyond Liberal and Conservative
SPSA 2026
Andrew Trexler
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Christopher Johnston
Duke University
The 7-Point Scale
Where would you place yourself on this scale?
- Very liberal
- Liberal
- Somewhat liberal
- Middle of the road
- Somewhat conservative
- Conservative
- Very conservative
Known Issues
- Many struggle to place themselves on this scale
- Economic versus social dimensions
- Policy preferences versus social identity
- Roughly 1 in 4 select the middle category
- Not clear that their attitudes are actually moderate
Trexler and Johnston (2025)
Trexler and Johnston (2025)
Which of the following describes your beliefs and attitudes? Please check all that apply.
- Liberal
- Progressive
- Green
- Environmentalist
- Socialist
- Communist
- Cosmopolitan
- Conservative
- Traditional
- Libertarian
- Nationalist
- Populist
- Fascist
- Communitarian
Trexler and Johnston (2025)
2024 Cooperative Election Study
- Take advantage of the two-period survey design
- Test the stability of the measure
- Test the inclusion of an explicit “none of these” option
- More credible point estimates weighted on observables
Design
- Pre-election CES module: original question format, most important identity, and 4-item strength of identity battery
- Post-election randomize to same question format (control) or with explicit “none of these” option (treatment)
- Pre/post control group tests stability over time
- Post-election randomization tests effect of explicit “none” option
Pre-election Identification
Pre-election Most Important Identities
Probability of Re-selection
Stronger for Most Important Identity
Including an Explicit “None”
Including an Explicit “None”
- Strength of most important identity (pre-election wave) predicts against selecting “none of these”
- Strong partisans (especially Republicans) are more stable pre/post
- Men and middle aged individuals are moderately less stable pre/post
Next Steps
- Explore the universe of changes in identification vectors
- Analyze issue attitudes for both stable and non-stable individuals
- Analyze aspects of political engagement & identification
