Alternate headline: Exposure to an American Flag does not make you socialist.
A new study found that even a brief exposure to an American flag shifts voters to Republican beliefs, attitudes and voting behavior.
Via US News and World Report:
Just a brief exposure to an image of the American flag shifts voters, even Democrats, to Republican beliefs, attitudes and voting behavior even though most don’t believe it will impact their politics, according to a new two-year study just published in the scholarly Psychological Science.
What’s more, according to three authors from the University Chicago, Cornell University and Hebrew University, the impact had staying power.
“A single exposure to an American flag resulted in a significant increase in participants’ Republican voting intentions, voting behavior, political beliefs, and implicit and explicit attitudes, with some effects lasting 8 months,” the study found. “These results constitute the first evidence that nonconscious priming effects from exposure to a national flag can bias the citizenry toward one political party and can have considerable durability.”
Theirs is the first study to look at the political impact on Americans who have seen an American flag, and it seems to back up another recent Harvard University professor’s study that found that kids who attended a July 4th parade ended up leaning Republican when they grew up.
It’s also sure to prompt GOP presidential candidates to add more U.S. flags at their events and speeches.
Related… A recent Harvard Study found that 4th of July events only help Republicans.