In 2012 the American National Election Survey did a study on Black voters. They found that when a Black citizen was asked if they were a democrat by a Black interviewer they were 12.6% more likely to answer yes than if they were asked by a Non-Black interviewer. This ANES study demonstrates the loyalty Black citizens feel to the Black community they are apart of. There exists solidarity amongst the Black population, it runs rich and deep and I argue that the solidarity felt amongst the Black population plays as a type of motivated reasoning for their partisanship.
Motivated reasoning, as reviewed and presented by Thomas J. Leeper and Rune Slothuus in the Journal of Advances in Political Psychology, is the theory that all reasoning is motivated, that when someone processes new information, that processing is done through filters driven by certain goals. In the case of Black citizens choosing to be democrats, the goal is to be accepted by their Black community. Motivated reasoning is what one uses to take a conflicting idea and fit it into an existing world view, to remain in a place of comfort and is used to escape sitting in cognitive dissonance.
Ismail White the author of Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior says that “90% of black Americans support the democratic party is because they have been empowered through that support.” Black voters have primarily voted with the Democratic Party since the Civil Rights Movement because the Democratic Party helped them achieve the political rights they were seeking after. They have felt empowered through the party and motivated by the possibility of change that they felt in the party during the 60’s. Black Americans see the solidarity in their community as both empowering and a path to creating a large enough group to have a voice within policymaking. If the “Black Vote” was divided between the two parties like the “White Vote,” is it wouldn’t hold the same power that it has when it’s one unified group.
Motivated reasoning exists among black voters, as they use race as a motive in determining their partisanship. The graph below, from the Pew Research Institute, demonstrates that of White, Hispanic and Black Democrats, Black Democrats are the least likely to call align themselves with the “liberal,” ideology. This is somewhat surprising considering to the layman being a “liberal,” can be synonymous to be being a Democrat. It is safe to assume that there must be some other type of pull for Black voters, besides idealogy, to the Democratic party. I theorize that the pull is for acceptance in their Black community, and identity group that makes up a majority of their social network. In 2000, Ismail White and Chyd Laird did found from the 2000 Census that out of 100 people that Black Americans interact with, 72 of them will also by Black American. Acceptance into one’s own social network seems an obvious motivation to declare oneself as a Democrat, even if it means giving up idealogy. As an aside: the idea of changing ideology, and staying with party, rather than changing partisanship, is said to exist amongst those who show interest and have some knowledge of politics and amongst those who just have knowledge of politics. Either way, it’s more common to give into motivated reasoning and adjust idealogy rather than partisanship. This is likely for the same reasons that Black Americans adapt their ideology, or rather, not give in to their ideology because they feel the pull of their group identity and social pressure. Or, in defending Leeper and Slohuus, they give in to their motivated reasoning rather than their ideology.
There have been studies done by FiveThirtyEight demonstrating the strong social pressure that exists among Black democrats. One study in particular, related to the 2012 presidential election represented the social pressure Black Americans face. A study was performed on a group of Black students and their tendencies to donate to a presidential campaign alone versus when they were with another Black student. With the social pressure of another Black student in the room, who verbally announced their support for Obama, the student, on average, donated $3 more than when they were alone. This same study was done by The Atlantic, accept instead of being with another Black student, they were told their donation amounts would be printed in the school paper. The same results were found, higher numbers amongst those who were told that their donations would be publicized.
These two studies highlight the profound strength that is found within the Black community. However, they also demonstrate the social pressure Black voters feel to deny ideology and stick to partisanship, to the party that has made differences for them in the post. The power of group identity is very strong, however, it can be an obstacle to people making reasoned decisions in terms of their partisanship and voting behavior.
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