After thinking about this more, I actually think there is a counter to that. The fifth study showed that people are really conforming to a norm, real or imagined. If they were really acting on their own individual preferences, then it seems like telling them their own side thinks it’s important not to lose money, even though the other side gains money, ought not to be able to so thoroughly alter the choices they make.
What we probably need is an explanation for:
Why people conform so strongly to the perceived norm.
Why people imagine the norm is to sacrifice money for your own side to keep money out of the hands of the opponents.
The explanation for (1) seems to be an overriding desire to maintain their sense of political identity. But the explanation for (2) might be that, all else equal, they think it’s sensible to diminish the amount of money wasted on politics. But if (1) dominates, then if they think the norm is to put money into politics, they’ll do that instead.
After thinking about this more, I actually think there is a counter to that. The fifth study showed that people are really conforming to a norm, real or imagined. If they were really acting on their own individual preferences, then it seems like telling them their own side thinks it’s important not to lose money, even though the other side gains money, ought not to be able to so thoroughly alter the choices they make.
What we probably need is an explanation for:
Why people conform so strongly to the perceived norm.
Why people imagine the norm is to sacrifice money for your own side to keep money out of the hands of the opponents.
The explanation for (1) seems to be an overriding desire to maintain their sense of political identity. But the explanation for (2) might be that, all else equal, they think it’s sensible to diminish the amount of money wasted on politics. But if (1) dominates, then if they think the norm is to put money into politics, they’ll do that instead.