Online Appendix

Variable Description

Dependent variables

1)Incognizance Variables

Did Not Place Self on Left-Right Scale: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent did not place herself on the left-right scale; 1=respondent did not place herself on the scale, and 0=respondent placed herselfon the scale (Mean: .16; SD: .37)

Did Not Place At Least Two Parties on Left-Right Scale: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent did not place at least two political parties on the left-right scale; 1=respondent did not place at least two parties on the scale, and 0=respondent placed at least two parties on the scale (Mean: .18; SD: .38)

Did Not Place Self or At Least Two Parties on Left-Right Scale: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent did not place herself or at least two parties on the left-right scale; 1=respondent did not place herself or at least two parties on the scale; 0=respondent placed herself and/or at least two parties on the scale (Mean: .22; SD: .41)

2)Perceptual Deviation and Party Thermometer Variables

Distance from Mean Party Placement: The absolute value of the difference between where the respondent placed a party on the left-right scale and the mean respondent placement of that party (Mean: 1.84; SD: 1.53)

Distance from Expert Party Placement: The absolute value of the difference between where the respondent placed a party on the left-right scale and the country expert’s placement of that party (Mean: 1.96; SD: 1.72)

Party Thermometer Evaluation: On a scale of 0-10, the rating of how much the respondent likes a particular party (Mean: 4.19; 3.01)

Other Variables

Did Not Place Self: The predicted probability of not placing oneself on the left-right scale (Mean: .11; SD: .12)

Did Not Place Min. Two Parties: The predicted probability of not placing at least two political parties on the left-right scale (Mean: .11; SD: .12)

Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties: The predicted probability of not placing oneself or at least two parties on the left-right scale (Mean: .15; SD: .14)

Dist Mean Place: The absolute value of the difference between where the respondent placed a party on the left-right scale and the mean respondent placement of that party (Mean: 1.84; SD: 1.53)

Dist Expert Place: The absolute value of the difference between where the respondent placed a party on the left-right scale and the country expert’s placement of that party (Mean: 1.96; SD: 1.72)

Independent and Control Variables

1)Individual-level Variables

Income: The respondent’s total household income quintile, with one indicating the lowest household income quintile, two indicating the second household income quintile, three indicating the third household income quintile, four indicating the fourth household income quintile, and five indicating the highest household income quintile (Mean: 2.91; SD: 1.37)

Education: The highest level of education completed by the respondent, with one indicating no education level, two indicating incomplete primary, three indicating primary completed, four indicating incomplete secondary, five indicating secondary completed, six indicating post-secondary trade or vocational school, seven indicating incomplete university undergraduate degree, and eight indicating completed university undergraduate degree (Mean: 5.05; SD: 1.83)

Political Information: an index of the number of questions on politics that the respondent correctly answered, out of a maximum of three questions (Mean: 1.68; SD: 1.01)

Age: The current age of the respondent in years (Mean: 46.06; SD: 17.01).

Female: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent is female, with one indicating yesand zero indicating no (Mean: .52; SD: .50)

Urbanness: How urban the residence is where the respondent lives, with one indicating a rural area or village, two indicating a small or middle-sized town, three indicating the suburbs of a large town or city, and four indicating a large town or city (Mean: 2.52; SD: 1.20)

Contact Politician: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent has contacted a politician or government official either in person, or in writing, or some other way in the last five years, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no (Mean: .13; SD: .33)

Protest: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent has taken part in a protest, march, or demonstration in the past five years, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no (Mean: .10; SD: .30)

Vote: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent voted in the current election for the lower chamber of the legislature, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no (Mean: .85; SD: .36)

Partisanship: A dichotomous variable for whether the respondent thinks of herself as close to the political party, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no (Mean: .05; SD: .22)

Vote Makes No Difference: on a scale of zero to four, the respondent’s evaluation of whether the vote does not make a difference in what happens, with zero indicating that who people vote for can make a difference and four indicating that who people vote for won’t make a difference (Mean: 1.24; SD: 1.31)

Dissatisfaction with Democracy: the respondent’s overall level of dissatisfaction with democracy, with zero indicating very satisfied, one indicating fairly satisfied, two indicating not very satisfied, and three indicating not at all satisfied (Mean: 1.47; SD: .79)

Government Performance: the respondent’s evaluation of how good of a job the current government has done, with zero indicating a very bad job, one indicating a bad job, two indicating a good job, and three indicating a very good job (Mean: 1.44; SD: .76)

2)Party-level Variables

Party Age: The age of the party in years (Mean: 32.57; SD: 37.04)

Party Ideology: A dichotomous variable for whether the party is in an ideological family with a clear left-right orientation, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no. The CSES dataset (variables B5012_A to B5012_I) identifies the ideological family that each party is closest to out of 26 categories, and based on this categorization a determination is made whether the selected category has a clear left-right orientation. The following families are determined to have a clear left-right orientation: Communist Parties, Socialist Parties, Social Democratic Parties, Left Liberal Parties, Liberal Parties, Right Liberal Parties, Christian Democratic Parties, Conservative Parties, Social-Liberal Parties, Extreme Left Parties, Nationalist Left Parties, Extreme Right Parties, Centrist Parties, and Communist-Green Parties (Mean: .76; SD: .43)

Party Vote Percent: The percentage of the vote that the party received in the previous election for the lower chamber of the legislature (Mean: 13.67; SD: 12.20)

Standard Deviation of Party Placement: the standard deviation of individual perceptions of the party’s position on the left-right scale (Mean: 2.41; SD: .62)

3)Country-level Variables

Plurality: A dichotomous variable for whether legislators are elected through a first-past-the-post or winner-take-all method, with one indicating a plurality system and zero indicating not a plurality system (Mean: .34: SD: .47)

Presidential: A dichotomous variable for whether the country has a presidential system, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no (Mean: .32; SD: .47)

Federalism: A dichotomous variable for whether the country is a federation, with one indicating yes and zero indicating no (Mean: .54; SD: .50)

Effective Number ofPolitical Parties (ENP): The effective number of political parties in the country (Mean: 4.04; SD: 1.65).

Age Electoral System: The age of the current electoral system in years (Mean: 77.57; SD: 46.81)

Age Democracy: The number of years with democracy, as determined by the indices of electoral competitiveness (Mean: 57.01; SD: 48.65)

Table A1: Incognizance Measures by Nation

Did Not Place Self on Left-Right Scale / Did Not Place At Least Two Parties on Left-Right Scale
ALBANIA2005 / 6.4 / 10.6
AUSTRALIA2004 / 17.8 / 20.6
BELGIUM2003 / 9.8 / n/a
BRAZIL200 / 24.7 / 26.7
BULGARIA2001 / 8.6 / 2.4
CANADA2004 / 10.8 / 20.5
CHILE2005 / 11.8 / 8.3
TAIWAN2001 / 51.6 / 53.8
TAIWAN2004 / 55.7 / 56.4
CZECH REPUBLIC2002 / 8.3 / 7.2
DENMARK2001 / 3.7 / 4.2
FINLAND2003 / 9.6 / 6.5
FRANCE2002 / 3.5 / 3.2
GERMANY2002 / 6.4 / 6.6
HONG KONG2004 / 24.1 / 23.2
HUNGARY2002 / 9.2 / 10.8
ICELAND2003 / 10.3 / 17
IRELAND2002 / 22.1 / 23.8
ISRAEL2003 / 5.4 / 3
ITALY2006 / 36.6 / 17.2
JAPAN2004 / 8.9 / n/a
KOREA2004 / 17.3 / 13.9
KYRGYZSTAN2005 / 51.3 / 60.1
MEXICO2003 / 28.3 / 25.5
NETHERLANDS2002 / 1.8 / 2.4
NEW ZEALAND2002 / 23.8 / 28
NORWAY2001 / 5 / 6.5
PERU2006 / 17.4 / 16.3
PHILIPPINES2004 / 5.8 / 21.8
POLAND2001 / 22.9 / 14.1
PORTUGAL2002 / 14.7 / 9.9
PORTUGAL2005 / 16.1 / 16.3
ROMANIA2004 / 33.7 / 35.9
RUSSIA2004 / 34 / 27.7
SLOVENIA2004 / 39.8 / 43.5
SPAIN2004 / 12.1 / 6.8
SWEDEN2002 / 4 / 6.2
SWITZERLAND2003 / 4.7 / 8.7
GREAT BRITAIN2005 / 27.2 / 29
UNITED STATES2004 / 14 / 15.9

Notes: The values represent the percentage of respondents who did not satisfy

each criterion.

Table A2: Incognizance Measures by Institution
Did Not Place Self on Left-Right Scale / Did Not Place At Least Two Parties on Left-Right Scale
Parliamentary System / 13 / 18.2
Presidential System / 24.7 / 23.5
No State Legislative Elections / 24.7 / 24.8
State Legislative Elections / 13.9 / 18.2
No State Executive Elections / 17.2 / 16.9
State Executive Elections / 16.2 / 23
Old Democracy / 12 / 19.4
New Democracy / 21.6 / 20.4
Old Electoral System / 15.1 / 21.1
New Electoral System / 20.1 / 17.3
Effective Number of Parties >= 3.5 / 18.4 / 18.3
Effective Number of Parties < 3.5 / 14.7 / 21.8
Notes: The values represent the percentage of respondents who did not satisfy each criterion. Old democracies and electoral systems are those that have been in existence for more than 30 years. The sources for the institutional-level variables are the CSES macro-level dataset and also the Database of Political Institutions (Beck et al, 2001; updated in 2010).
Table A3: Distance from Expert Party Placement (all parties)
(1) / (2) / (3) / (4)
Party Variables
Party Age / -0.000*** / -0.000*** / -0.000*** / -0.000***
Party Ideology / -0.249*** / -0.248*** / -0.248*** / -0.248***
Party Vote Percent / 0.004*** / 0.004*** / 0.004*** / 0.004***
Standard Deviation of Party Placement / 0.584*** / 0.585*** / 0.585*** / 0.585***
Individual Variables
Income / -0.053*** / -0.059*** / -0.059*** / -0.057***
Education / -0.068*** / -0.076*** / -0.075*** / -0.073***
Political Information / -0.098*** / -0.120*** / -0.115*** / -0.110***
Age / -0.000 / -0.000 / -0.001 / -0.001
Female / 0.079*** / 0.096*** / 0.091*** / 0.087***
Urbanness / -0.004 / -0.006 / -0.005 / -0.004
Contact Politician / -0.016 / -0.028 / -0.025 / -0.021
Vote / -0.121*** / -0.125*** / -0.125*** / -0.124***
Country Variables
Plurality / 0.428*** / 0.428*** / 0.423*** / 0.416***
Presidential / 0.224** / 0.262*** / 0.262*** / 0.256***
Federalism / -0.067 / -0.038 / -0.041 / -0.040
ENP / 0.072*** / 0.070** / 0.072*** / 0.072***
Age Electoral System / 0.002 / 0.002 / 0.002 / 0.002
Age Democracy / -0.004*** / -0.004*** / -0.004*** / -0.004***
Other Variables
Did Not Place Self / -0.566*** / -1.089*** / -1.534***
Did Not Place Min. Two Parties / 0.586*
Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties / 0.928*
Constant / 1.217*** / 1.366*** / 1.351*** / 1.301***
N / 146073 / 145367 / 145367 / 145367
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes: Multilevel random-intercept regression models are used in this analysis. The dependent variable is the absolute value of the difference between where the respondent places a party on the left-right scale and the placement of the party by country experts. The sample consists of all parties.
Table A4: Distance from Mean Party Placement (only major parties)
(1) / (2) / (3) / (4)
Party Variables
Party Age / -0.000 / -0.000 / -0.000 / -0.000
Party Ideology / 0.041** / 0.042** / 0.041** / 0.042**
Party Vote Percent / -0.002*** / -0.002*** / -0.002*** / -0.002***
Standard Deviation of Party Placement / 0.866*** / 0.867*** / 0.867*** / 0.866***
Individual Variables
Income / -0.049*** / -0.054*** / -0.054*** / -0.051***
Education / -0.063*** / -0.071*** / -0.067*** / -0.066***
Political Information / -0.086*** / -0.105*** / -0.091*** / -0.092***
Age / 0.001* / 0.001 / 0.000 / 0.001
Female / 0.082*** / 0.098*** / 0.085*** / 0.086***
Urbanness / 0.003 / 0.000 / 0.002 / 0.003
Contact Politician / 0.039** / 0.028 / 0.033* / 0.037**
Vote / -0.074*** / -0.078*** / -0.079*** / -0.077***
Country Variables
Plurality / 0.137** / 0.137** / 0.128** / 0.122**
Presidential / 0.131*** / 0.164*** / 0.167*** / 0.156***
Federalism / -0.020 / 0.005 / -0.005 / 0.003
ENP / 0.039*** / 0.037*** / 0.041*** / 0.039***
Age Electoral System / 0.002*** / 0.002*** / 0.002** / 0.002***
Age Democracy / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001* / -0.001
Other Variables
Did Not Place Self / -0.498*** / -1.762*** / -1.731***
Did Not Place Min. Two Parties / 1.417***
Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties / 1.182**
Constant / 0.113 / 0.247** / 0.213** / 0.165
N / 83573 / 83124 / 83124 / 83124
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes: Multilevel random-intercept regression models are used in this analysis. The dependent variable is the absolute value of the difference between where the respondent places a party on the left-right scale and the mean placement of the party by all respondents in that country. The sample consists of only the major parties.
Table A5: Distance from Expert Party Placement (only major parties)
(1) / (2) / (3) / (4)
Party Variables
Party Age / 0.000** / 0.000** / 0.000** / 0.000**
Party Ideology / -0.391*** / -0.393*** / -0.394*** / -0.393***
Party Vote Percent / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001
Standard Deviation of Party Placement / 0.676*** / 0.676*** / 0.675*** / 0.675***
Individual Variables
Income / -0.061*** / -0.066*** / -0.067*** / -0.065***
Education / -0.074*** / -0.083*** / -0.080*** / -0.081***
Political Information / -0.097*** / -0.120*** / -0.110*** / -0.114***
Age / -0.000 / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001
Female / 0.103*** / 0.120*** / 0.111*** / 0.115***
Urbanness / 0.004 / 0.002 / 0.003 / 0.003
Contact Politician / 0.001 / -0.012 / -0.009 / -0.009
Vote / -0.097*** / -0.100*** / -0.100*** / -0.099***
Country Variables
Plurality / 0.628*** / 0.628*** / 0.619*** / 0.621***
Presidential / 0.064 / 0.101 / 0.101 / 0.097
Federalism / -0.298* / -0.269 / -0.273 / -0.270
ENP / 0.075 / 0.074 / 0.076* / 0.074
Age Electoral System / 0.002 / 0.002 / 0.002 / 0.002
Age Democracy / -0.005** / -0.005** / -0.005** / -0.005**
Other Variables
Did Not Place Self / -0.567*** / -1.412*** / -1.072*
Did Not Place Min. Two Parties / 0.947***
Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties / 0.487
Constant / 1.331*** / 1.485*** / 1.458*** / 1.449***
N / 83573 / 83124 / 83124 / 83124
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes: Multilevel random-intercept regression models are used in this analysis. The dependent variable is the absolute value of the difference between where the respondent places a party on the left-right scale and the placement of the party by country experts. The sample consists of only the major parties.
Table A6: Party Thermometer Evaluations (all parties)
(1) / (2) / (3) / (4)
Party Variables
Party Age / 0.005*** / 0.005*** / 0.005*** / 0.005***
Party Ideology / 0.086*** / 0.085*** / 0.085*** / 0.085***
Standard Deviation of Party Placement / -0.679*** / -0.677*** / -0.676*** / -0.676***
Individual Variables
Income / -0.006 / 0.001 / 0.001 / 0.009
Education / -0.015** / -0.007 / -0.001 / 0.005
Political Information / -0.097*** / -0.072*** / -0.051*** / -0.034**
Age / -0.005*** / -0.005*** / -0.005*** / -0.005***
Female / 0.118*** / 0.099*** / 0.081*** / 0.066***
Urbanness / -0.024*** / -0.022** / -0.020** / -0.015*
Contact Politician / -0.154*** / -0.146*** / -0.139*** / -0.121***
Vote / 0.089*** / 0.091*** / 0.089*** / 0.093***
Partisanship / 4.325*** / 4.326*** / 4.326*** / 4.326***
Vote Makes No Difference / -0.037*** / -0.038*** / -0.038*** / -0.038***
Dissatisfaction with Democracy / -0.130*** / -0.129*** / -0.127*** / -0.128***
Government Performance / 0.212*** / 0.211*** / 0.210*** / 0.210***
Country Variables
Plurality / -0.186 / -0.190 / -0.205 / -0.228
Presidential / 0.286 / 0.245 / 0.249 / 0.234
Federalism / 0.303 / 0.276 / 0.262 / 0.262
ENP / 0.023 / 0.024 / 0.030 / 0.029
Age Electoral System / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.000 / -0.000
Age Democracy / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001
Distance to True Party Placement
Distance to Expert Placement / -0.109*** / -0.109*** / -0.109*** / -0.109***
Other Variables
Did Not Place Self / 0.611*** / -1.069** / -2.596***
Did Not Place Min. Two Parties / 1.910***
Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties / 3.137***
Constant / 5.570*** / 5.406*** / 5.341*** / 5.168***
N / 113553 / 112972 / 112972 / 112972
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes: Multilevel random-intercept regression models are used in this analysis. The dependent variable is the party thermometer rating. Distance to true party placement is measured using country expert placement. The sample consists of all parties.
Table A7: Party Thermometer Evaluations (only major parties)
(1) / (2) / (3) / (4)
Party Variables
Party Age / 0.005*** / 0.005*** / 0.005*** / 0.005***
Party Ideology / 0.463*** / 0.458*** / 0.457*** / 0.459***
Standard Deviation of Party Placement / -0.286*** / -0.281*** / -0.279*** / -0.277***
Individual Variables
Income / -0.004 / 0.007 / 0.007 / 0.022**
Education / -0.042*** / -0.028*** / -0.020** / -0.003
Political Information / -0.124*** / -0.083*** / -0.055*** / -0.006
Age / -0.002*** / -0.002*** / -0.003*** / -0.003***
Female / 0.051** / 0.020 / -0.003 / -0.047*
Urbanness / -0.040*** / -0.037*** / -0.034*** / -0.023**
Contact Politician / -0.185*** / -0.171*** / -0.160*** / -0.120***
Vote / 0.091*** / 0.093*** / 0.091*** / 0.098***
Partisanship / 4.087*** / 4.088*** / 4.088*** / 4.089***
Vote Makes No Difference / -0.028*** / -0.029*** / -0.029*** / -0.030***
Dissatisfaction with Democracy / -0.115*** / -0.114*** / -0.112*** / -0.111***
Government Performance / 0.254*** / 0.254*** / 0.253*** / 0.252***
Country Variables
Plurality / -0.254 / -0.260 / -0.280 / -0.339**
Presidential / 0.395** / 0.333* / 0.336** / 0.307**
Federalism / -0.099 / -0.143 / -0.161 / -0.174
ENP / -0.014 / -0.012 / -0.005 / -0.004
Age Electoral System / -0.000 / -0.000 / 0.000 / 0.000
Age Democracy / -0.000 / -0.000 / -0.001 / -0.001
Distance to True Party Placement
Distance to Mean Placement / -0.167*** / -0.167*** / -0.168*** / -0.167***
Other Variables
Did Not Place Self / 0.967*** / -1.086* / -5.275***
Did Not Place Min. Two Parties / 2.352***
Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties / 6.166***
Constant / 4.994*** / 4.733*** / 4.643*** / 4.237***
N / 66124 / 65746 / 65746 / 65746
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes: Multilevel random-intercept regression models are used in this analysis. The dependent variable is the party thermometer rating. Distance to true party placement is measured using mean respondent placement. The sample consists of only the major parties.
Table A8: Party Thermometer Evaluations (only major parties)
(1) / (2) / (3) / (4)
Party Variables
Party Age / 0.005*** / 0.005*** / 0.005*** / 0.005***
Party Ideology / 0.434*** / 0.428*** / 0.427*** / 0.429***
Standard Deviation of Party Placement / -0.319*** / -0.315*** / -0.313*** / -0.311***
Individual Variables
Income / -0.004 / 0.007 / 0.006 / 0.022**
Education / -0.041*** / -0.028*** / -0.021** / -0.004
Political Information / -0.123*** / -0.083*** / -0.057*** / -0.009
Age / -0.003*** / -0.002*** / -0.003*** / -0.003***
Female / 0.052** / 0.022 / -0.000 / -0.044*
Urbanness / -0.041*** / -0.037*** / -0.034*** / -0.024**
Contact Politician / -0.192*** / -0.177*** / -0.168*** / -0.128***
Vote / 0.089*** / 0.092*** / 0.089*** / 0.096***
Partisanship / 4.083*** / 4.083*** / 4.083*** / 4.085***
Vote Makes No Difference / -0.028*** / -0.029*** / -0.029*** / -0.030***
Dissatisfaction with Democracy / -0.117*** / -0.116*** / -0.114*** / -0.113***
Government Performance / 0.253*** / 0.253*** / 0.252*** / 0.251***
Country Variables
Plurality / -0.202 / -0.208 / -0.226 / -0.284
Presidential / 0.369* / 0.308* / 0.311* / 0.283*
Federalism / -0.140 / -0.184 / -0.201 / -0.214
ENP / -0.012 / -0.010 / -0.004 / -0.002
Age Electoral System / -0.000 / -0.000 / -0.000 / 0.000
Age Democracy / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001 / -0.001
Distance to True Party Placement
Distance to Expert Placement / -0.139*** / -0.139*** / -0.139*** / -0.139***
Other Variables
Did Not Place Self / 0.946*** / -1.000* / -5.104***
Did Not Place Min. Two Parties / 2.228***
Did Not Place Self or Min. Two Parties / 5.975***
Constant / 5.110*** / 4.857*** / 4.772*** / 4.378***
N / 66124 / 65746 / 65746 / 65746
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes: Multilevel random-intercept regression models are used in this analysis. The dependent variable is the party thermometer rating. Distance to true party placement is measured using country expert placement. The sample consists of only the major parties.

Table A9: Correlations of the Party Variables

PartyAge / PartyIdeology / Party Vote Percent
Party Age / 1
Party Ideology / 0.1640 / 1
Party Vote Percent / 0.3319 / 0.2969 / 1
Table A10: Unconditional Models
(1) / (2) / (3)
Did Not Place Self on Left-Right Scale / Did Not Place At Least Two Parties on Left-Right Scale / Did Not Place Self or At Least Two Parties on Left-Right Scale
Fixed effects
Constant / -2.606*** / -1.964*** / -1.729***
[0.337] / [0.171] / [0.195]
Random effects variance components
Country-level effect (variance) / 2.089 / 1.051 / 1.195
[0.286] / [0.122] / [0.140]
N / 62440 / 58701 / 57719
Number of groups / 40 / 38 / 38
* p<.10; ** p<.05; *** p<.01
Notes:Standard errors in brackets.