Populist Attitudes and Political Discourse: An Experimental Test on Voters' Responsiveness to Populist Rhetoric

Populism tends to be more frequently associated with outsiders, who can credibly inveigh against the political class. However, political scientists have not yet tested whether the public makes this distinction when assessing a populist discourse. This study aims at looking at this question by using an experimental design in a 2x2 format. Each participant is given a short populist speech by a fictitious candidate. The variance is on the candidates' description. The bios can state either that the candidate is a challenger to the party leadership, or that he is endorsed by his party. The intention is to see whether individuals who score higher on a populist-attitude scale react more positively to the outsider and, conversely, more negatively to the candidate endorsed by the establishment.