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The outcome of the 2016 US presidential election cycle generated a great deal of attention about the political psychology of the average American voter. A familiar narrative was that authoritarianism, perhaps triggered by fears of cultural and economic change, was the primary driver of support for Donald Trump. This article argues that sexism has been underestimated as a political force, especially given the angry emotional climate. The article first explores the electoral role of sexism early in the campaign, finding that sexism powerfully predicted vote choice even after controlling for authoritarianism, partisanship, and other predispositions. Second, the article analyzes American National Election Studies time-series data to examine the impact of sexism in recent presidential elections, demonstrating that 2016 was the only year in which it played a large and significant role. Finally, a survey experiment tests the theorized causal mechanism underlying sexism's influence: the catalyzing power of anger versus fear. Fear sharply reduced sexism's impact on support for Trump relative to those who experienced anger. Further, anger powerfully mobilized sexists, a group that would normally be likely to stay home. These results illuminate the role that emotional undercurrents play in catalyzing group-based predispositions into politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the conventional images of the Belle Époque, the first fifteen years of the twentieth century were undermined by awareness that the foundations of civilized life were precarious. The article analyzes the fears and anxieties, and hopes and aspirations, of propertied classes in Italy, France, and Spain in the fifteen years preceding the Great War. The aims of the article are twofold. First it analyzes perceptions of fear during major strikes and daily life, relating them to those cultural factors (like religion and a preoccupation with private property) that contributed to shape and influence anxieties and uncertainness. Emotional experiences are examined in relation both to the political cultures that gave them significance and to the practices to which they gave rise and from which they also originated. Second, the article analyzes the "materiality" of emotions and the emotional characters, which are rooted in actions. Indeed, emotions act as a means of framing and reaching judgments on social events and may fuel organizational initiatives and even collective violent practices. Studying the interplay between emotions, political cultures, and practices in contexts of high-level political and social unrests, the article offers new insights into a broader comprehension of a crucial (though sometimes underestimated) period in European history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment investigated emotional reactions to news on policy support. Stimuli were selected from a nationally representative sample of local crime/accident news, and a nationally representative online panel of U.S. adults. Stories were manipulated to mention or not mention the role of alcohol. Anger elicited by stories increased blame of individuals, whereas fear increased consideration of contributing societal factors. Mention of alcohol increased likelihood of different emotional responses dominating-greater anger when alcohol was mentioned and greater fear when not mentioned. Such emotions influence policy support: enforcement of existing laws controlling individual behavior in addition to new laws when anger predominated, and, indirectly, support for new laws changing social context in which alcohol is promoted and sold when fear predominated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the phenomena of fear and anxiety in the post-Communist world. Major areas of fear in the 1990s; Reactions of society to general anxiety and fear; Consequences of post-Communist societies' fear. Examines the differences between the recipients of fear and the producers of fear. Discusses fear in Eastern European countries, standard of living in those countries, attitudes toward the future, the increase in criminal activity, fear of economic disaster and social disorder, and the different societal reactions and responses to the fears.