Randomized experiments, conducted during the 2006 US midterm election
and the 2005 German federal election, examined the impact on voter
turnout of two simple treatments. The effects of a mere
measurement treatment (asking people if they intend to vote) and
an implementation intentions treatment (asking people how they
intend to vote), were estimated for both one-shot goals (e.g.,
voting on Election Day) and open-ended goals (e.g., voting early)
with deadlines in either days or months in the future. Mere
measurement increased voter turnout for open-ended goals and for
proximal one-shot goals but not for distant one-shot
goals. Implementation intentions increased voter turnout for both
open-ended and one-shot goals in the near and long term.
(Last Revised September, 2008)
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