Mental Floss cites LaBouff in article about churches as polling places
In an article about why many polling places are at churches, Mental Floss quoted an article written Jordan LaBouff, associate professor of psychology at the University of Maine, in which he observed that people tend to take social cues from stereotypes about the space they’re occupying, a phenomenon known as the priming effect. LaBouff conducted a survey of 100 people and asked them questions about their political leanings and found that those standing near a cathedral tended to have stronger opinions about conservative topics like immigration and drug policies than those who were standing near a government building. LaBouff’s examination of 2016 election data for Virginia supported this observation, noting that voting in churches tends to lead to greater conservative support.