Intellectual Thinking Disposition and Political Values in the 2023 Turkish Presidential Election: A Comparative Analysis of Voter Groups and Schools of Thought in Voter Behaviour from a Political Marketing Perspective

OpenAlex Türkçe

This research examines the impact of voters' intellectual thinking disposition (ITD) on rational and sociological approaches to making choices, and the mediating role of political values. Using the PROCESS macro model, groups of Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu supporters (N = 828) from the 2023 Turkish elections were compared. The findings do not support the prevailing view that ITD directly leads voters to make rational choices with an objective attitude by abstracting them from values. Among Erdoğan supporters, national and religious values were found to balance purely rational utility calculations, leading them towards a strong sociological and belonging-based approach. Among Kılıçdaroğlu supporters, ITD was found to reduce the sociological approach, while religious values created a motivational source that softened utilitarianism by transforming the rational (utility-centered) weight. In both groups, economic values emerged as the most consistent mediating variable, strengthening the rational approach. The results suggest that voter behaviour may not be shaped solely by the influence of ITD at the cognitive level, and that political value identifications are a significant factor in market segmentation. Given the limitations of the current sample, these findings suggest that balanced and inclusive value-based messages may be more functional in political marketing strategies than sharply polarizing value positioning. The findings should be interpreted as analytical patterns specific to the group observed within the sample, rather than being generalizable to the entire electorate.