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<p>Political parties and candidates appeal to social groups to gain their support. Yet, we lack knowledge about what makes such group appeals effective. This article tests novel explanations for the success of in-group appeals. Specifically, we investigate (1) how voters respond to social group appeals that flatter them by describing their group’s positive qualities (warmth and competence), and (2) whether voters identifying with high or low status groups differ in how they are effectively flattered. Focusing on social class, we conducted survey experiments in Denmark and the United States, in which respondents received in-group appeals corresponding to their self-identified class and were randomly assigned to receive different types of flattery. The results show that, as expected, the impact of group appeals on candidate support increases as individuals express stronger class identities. However, they also suggest that adding flattery to these appeals can boost effectiveness among high-identifiers. Further, high- and low-status groups are relatively similar in their responses to flattery. These findings underline the potential of flattery-based group mobilization, even for high-status groups like the upper-middle class.</p>

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Flattering Social Groups: Do Warmth and Competence Descriptions Impact the Effectiveness of Group Appeals?

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月25日

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  • Camilla Bjarnøe,
  • Kristina Jessen Hansen,
  • Dominik Schraff,
  • Mads Thau

摘要

Political parties and candidates appeal to social groups to gain their support. Yet, we lack knowledge about what makes such group appeals effective. This article tests novel explanations for the success of in-group appeals. Specifically, we investigate (1) how voters respond to social group appeals that flatter them by describing their group’s positive qualities (warmth and competence), and (2) whether voters identifying with high or low status groups differ in how they are effectively flattered. Focusing on social class, we conducted survey experiments in Denmark and the United States, in which respondents received in-group appeals corresponding to their self-identified class and were randomly assigned to receive different types of flattery. The results show that, as expected, the impact of group appeals on candidate support increases as individuals express stronger class identities. However, they also suggest that adding flattery to these appeals can boost effectiveness among high-identifiers. Further, high- and low-status groups are relatively similar in their responses to flattery. These findings underline the potential of flattery-based group mobilization, even for high-status groups like the upper-middle class.