Duration: March 2014 until September 2014

Funding: Fritz Thyssen Foundation

The research project funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation aims to provide information on the effects of Wahl-O-Mat against the background of the theory of cognitive dissonance. The study is based on the Wahl-O-Mat for the 2014 European elections and focuses on the question of what effect the Wahl-O-Mat has on the political behavior of its users. For this purpose, a quasi-experiment with 87 test persons and a three-wave online panel survey with about 1,800 participants were conducted. Based on these data, several papers and publications were produced that shed light on different aspects of the project in detail.

Overview of project-related publications:

Marschall, Stefan/Israel, Jonas/Schiefer, Melissa/Schultze, Martin (2015): "Die Nutzung des Wahl-O-Mat bei der Europa-Wahl 2014. Eine empirische Analyse", in: Kaeding, M./Switek, N. (Hrsg.): Die Europawahl 2014, Wies-baden: Springer Fachmedien, S. 57-68.

Heinsohn, Till/Israel, Jonas/Marschall, Stefan/Schultze, Martin (2016): Online-Wahlhilfen in Wahlkämpfen. Empirische Ergebnisse einer Panelbefragung zur Europawahl 2014, in: Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft 26(3), S. 253–277.

Israel, Jonas/Marschall, Stefan/Schultze, Martin (2016): Kognitive Dissonanz und die Effekte von Voting Advice Applications. Ergebnisse eines Quasi-Experiments anlässlich des Einsatzes des Wahl-O-Mat zur Europawahl 2014, in: Politische Psychologie (1), S. 115-135.

Israel, Jonas/Marschall, Stefan/Schultze, Martin (2017): Cognitive dissonance and the effects of Voting Advice Applications on voting behaviour. Evidence from the European Elections 2014, in: Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 27(1), S. 56-74.