Understanding Independent Voters

kevin | Decision Making | Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

I found this on MindSet Media’s website. It’s a snip from a press release on how they think independent voters will swing in the November elections. There’s a bit of psycho-speak, but it’s an interesting insight into a key dimension of decision making: values, or another word “preferences.” In this case, these preferences may not be well articulated by the person in question. Rather, they exist at a deeper, psychological level.

Do independent voters’ personalities determine how they will vote for president?  It does according to Mindset Media.  Their survey of several thousand Americans revealed that self-proclaimed independents who planned to vote Democratic in November had a distinctly different Mindset Profile than those who planned to vote Republican.  Creative types (Creativity 5’s in Mindset Media parlance) who are not currently affiliated with a party, are 60 percent more likely to plan to vote Democratic in the upcoming elections as are those who lack Bravado and are not Dogmatic.  Not surprisingly, independents who are very Dogmatic (Dogmatic 5’s) are 150 percent more likely to vote Republican.  But perhaps concerning to Obama’s camp is that independents who are very Optimistic (Optimistic 5’s) are 36 percent more likely to vote Republican.  
 
Mindset Media defines Creativity 5’s as those who are inventive and imaginative.  They consider what could be and are less confined by the realities of here and now.  They are both emotionally sensitive and intellectually curious.  People on the poles of the Mindset Media Reveals the Traits of Voters/2 Dogmatism, Dogmatism 1’s and 5’s, are socially liberal and traditional, respectively. Optimism 5’s see the glass as half-full.    
 
“In the race for the White House, candidates that take the personality traits of swing voters into consideration are likely to have an edge over those who do not,” said Sarah Welch, COO and co-founder of Mindset Media.  “Candidates can use our network to reach large audiences of people with the Mindsets that make them more receptive to their party platform and campaign messages.” 

To understand the terms, click on the company’s link.

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