Election day jitters or fear and loathing at the polling booth

Sweaty palms and a racing heart may be part of the voting process on Election Day.

A recent study found measurable increases in the levels of a stress-related hormone in people who were tested immediately before voting.

In a study of voters on the way to the polling station published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology, those tested had almost three times the level of cortisol, also known as the “fight or flight” hormone, than the level of cortisol in a control group.

The test was done on Israel’s Election Day in 2009. Subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire describing their emotional state and give a sample of their saliva at a stand thirty feet from the polling station. The control group was drawn from people from the same area who were tested on post-election day, and also asked for a saliva sample and to fill out the same questionnaire.

The study was led by Professor Hagit Cohen from the Anxiety and Stress Research Unit at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

The research indicated that people’s stress increased immediately prior to voting.

“Emotional changes are related and affect various physiological processes, but we were surprised that voting in national democratic elections causes emotional reactions accompanied by such physical and psychological stress that can easily influence our decision-making,” said Cohen.

Stress triggers the adrenal glands near the kidneys to release the steroid hormone cortisol to direct the different body functions to assist the brain in dealing with the source of this stress, be it physical or psychological. It is also key in the regulation of many bodily systems including carbohydrate metabolism, immunity, the cardiovascular system and blood pressure.

In an email interview, Cohen cited the motivation for the study. “It is well known that situations involving decision-making tasks and emotions can cause an increase in cortisol levels,” she noted. “Emotions have been found to play a major role during elections. Israeli elections are always emotional ordeals. However, this election was particularly emotional, coming on the heels of two wars in less than three years.” She pointed out that the election was a “struggle” between Kadima and Labor on one side and Likud and Israel Beiteinu on the other. “Given that emotions are a key element in many decision-making situations in which much is at stake, and choosing one alternative over the other involves risk and uncertainty, there is reason to believe that voters will feel anxious and exhibit higher than normal cortisol levels,” she emphasized.

The study was conducted in Omer, a small southern town near Be’er Sheva, 70 miles from Tel Aviv, said Cohen. The first group in the study was tested before voting and the second group was tested at the same time of day but on their day off from work and not in connection to voting. “Our voters exhibited extremely high levels of cortisol, more than five times higher than expected from healthy individuals on a regular day (matching each voter to an expected normal cortisol value on a regular day) and almost two times higher than these same individuals on a regular day. To capture the mood of voters prior to casting their ballot, we also used a questionnaire (the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).”

“Our data demonstrate that elections are exciting yet stressful events, and it is this stress, among other factors, that elevates the cortisol levels of voters,” she concluded. “Since elevated cortisol has been found to affect memory consolidation, impair memory retrieval and lead to risk-seeking behavior, these outcomes of elevated cortisol levels may affect voting in general and the field of electoral studies in particular. Only additional research will determine if that stress is capable of altering voting decisions.”

Dr. Michael J. Salamon, Senior Psychologist and Director, ADC Psychological Services in Hewlett, commented on the study. “While cortisol is considered a stress hormone, it is more accurately labeled an emotional arousal hormone,” he pointed out. “It is a bit of a leap to say that all emotional arousal is stressful. I am not surprised that a study of elections in Israel may be seen as extremely stressful because it is a matter of life and death. In other countries the rhetoric of voting can certainly increase emotional arousal, but would not be necessarily called stressful from a psychological or biological perspective.”

Cohen cited a 2010 study that reported varied cortisol levels in subjects on Election night in 2008 in the United States. She said that that seems to indicate that “stress and hormonal levels (other than testosterone) may be related to political decisions.” She said that she thought that American voters will exhibit higher stress levels throughout the campaign and election.