The Interplay Between Explicit and Implicit Right-Wing Populism in Germany and Switzerland

Abstract

We conceptualize and measure right-wing populism (RWP) as a three-dimensional concept, explicitly and implicitly, based on online surveys and implicit association tests (IATs) in Germany and Switzerland. Confirmatory factor analyses show that explicit populism, nativism, and authoritarianism establish the latent RWP-construct and that they are each related to their respective implicit counterpart. However, RWP ideology does not exist as an equally robust construct in the implicit realm as it does in the explicit realm. Resulting implicit-explicit incongruence is psychologically meaningful in that it is moderated by willingness to comply with perceived social norms: For participants who perceive that their own political views differ from their social environment and who conceal their diverging opinions, implicit attitudes differ more strongly from explicit attitudes. This supports our rationale that explicit expression of RWP-ideology is subject to social-compatibility concerns. Hence, corresponding implicit attitudes are useful to fully assess the RWP potential within society.