New evidence about the existence of a bandwagon effect in the opinion formation process
Richard Nadeau, Edouard Cloutier and J.-H. Guay test whether people move toward the majority opinion, outside electoral contexts, using abortion and the constitutional future of Quebec as the two issues. They combine a panel design with an experiment in which respondents are told the state and direction of public opinion, and they apply three methodological criteria for a valid test, including allowance for underdogging and for opinion shifts caused by factors outside the experiment. They report a bandwagon effect on both issues and say the reasons for it remain unclear.
Richard Nadeau, Edouard Cloutier and J.-H. Guay test whether people move toward the majority opinion, outside electoral contexts, using abortion and the constitutional future of Quebec as the two issues. They combine a panel design with an experiment in which respondents are told the state and direction of public opinion, and they apply three methodological criteria for a valid test, including allowance for underdogging and for opinion shifts caused by factors outside the experiment. They report a bandwagon effect on both issues and say the reasons for it remain unclear.
Written from the abstract as shown on the Pollux and SciLit records, read 2026-10-28.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Nadeau, R., Cloutier, E., & Guay, J.-H. (1993). New evidence about the existence of a bandwagon effect in the opinion formation process. International Political Science Review, 14(2), 203-213. doi:10.1177/019251219301400204 https://doi.org/10.1177/019251219301400204