1. What kind of image do we create of those involved in politics? Nóra Orsolya Balázs Eötvös Loránd University Budapest HUNGARY Nóra Lantos Eötvös Loránd University Budapest HUNGARY Stereotypes of the left and the right in three different contexts 18th July 2013.

2. POLITICAL HISTORY 1989. october 23. – End of soviet regime Post-communist heritage ◦ Depoliticized citizens ◦ Political participation is limited to the elections ◦ Being politically active has no attraction, prestige or utility Hungary is still learning democratic functioning

3. ACTUAL POLITICS IN HUNGARY Present government: Fidesz President: Viktor Orbán Robust shift to the political right

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2 main focus: the structure and the content of the stereotypes What dimensions do we use when we adjudge those who are connected to the political left-wing or the political right-wing? What stereotypes do leftists and rightst have of the ingroup and the outgroup? (auto-stereotypes and stereotypes)

5. Person-positivity bias (Sears, 1983) A person connected to a political side is perceived more favorably compared to the party or the group one belongs to. Motivated social cognition Conservatives: prefer safety, structure and order → tend to be closed-minded Liberals: prefer freedom, ambiguity → tend to be open-minded Research evidence (mostly in Western countries) (Jost, 1999; Chirumbolo, 2002; Kruglanski, 2004; Caprara et al., 2006 Calogero, 2009; Caprara et al., 2006) Critics (Greenberg & Jonas, 2003) THEORETICAL BASIS

6. Previous research: Stereotypes of the voters of Fidesz and MSZP (Krekó & Hunyady, 2006) Similar methods and background Stereotypes  Natural part of lay epistemics  Left and Right are considered as antagonistic parties Relevance in 2013

7. METHODS Paper-and-pencil testing 3 different questionnaires – 3 different contexts ◦ Person they know ◦ Fictitious person ◦ Well-known person Evaluate them on a 6 point Likert-scale Personality trait pairs according to personality, cognitive theories „Please evaluate this person along the personality trait pairs listed below!” ACTIVE321123PASSIVE FRIENDLY321123UNFRIENDLY LIBERAL331123CONSERVATIVE ……….321123

8. THE SAMPLE I. Adults, mostly university students and graduates (N = 449) 45% 55% Heterogeneous by age37 (st. d.=14) finished education50%+ township type49%

9. THE SAMPLE II. „In politics we often talk about left and right wing. On a scale of 1 to 7, where would you place yourself? (If 1 means political right and 7 means political left.)” „Is there a party that is closer to you than the others? Which one is it?” There isn’t any: 66%

10. RESULTS I. Leftists about leftist well-known person Gordon Bajnai32% Attila Mesterházy17% Ferenc Gyurcsány15% Others: Critics from television! Rightists about rightist well-known person Viktor Orbán45% Gábor Vona10,5% Others: rightist politicians! Leftists about rightist well-known person Viktor Orbán34% Gábor Vona8,5% Zsolt Semjén5,1% Rightists about leftist well-known person Ferenc Gyurcsány39% Attila Mesterházy13% Gordon Bajnai8%

11. RESULTS II. Factor analysis: Personally known person is warmer, likeable than fictitious more trustworthy, respectable and honest Well-known person involved in politics: ◦ Warmth ◦ Competence ◦ Open and closed mindedness THEREFORE politicians are evaluated along several and more complex dimensions than civils only leftists use this dimension

12. RESULTS III.1. Stereotypes of the well-known leftists and rightists (politicians) In general: enjudgement of the ingroup is more detailed and positive compared to the outgroup Similarities ◦ Leftists are not religious ◦ Rightists are conservative ◦ Describe each other as arrogant ◦ Leftists think rightists to be self-confident, active and schooled (all in all: charismatic)

13. Differences ◦ Rightists query the morality of leftists (‘dishonest, unreliable, untruthful’- no positive features) ◦ Leftists mention ‘active, self-confident, radical, closed- minded, and socially indifferent’ → Refer to the misuse of power and competence → Actual political discourse ◦ Open-closed-mindedness as a dimension is only used by leftists RESULTS III.2. Stereotypes of the well-known leftists and rightists (politicians)

14. Discussion Negative image of politicians- Disappointment, depoliticization Political person perception: new dimension: Open- Closed-Mindedness (but only by Leftists; Rightists: not relevant) Image of leftist politicians is more diffuse ◦ Being opposition ◦ More fragmanted Actual political discourse and common talk appears in strereotypes – Power of politicians in shaping common perceptions

15. Thank you for your attention!