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And Eric Spangenberg, dean of The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, said that campaigns should start asking the question now.

鈥淭he 鈥榪uestion-behavior effect鈥� is really quite simple,鈥� said Spangenberg, lead author of the study, which appears in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. 鈥淲hat we found is that if people are asked a question 鈥� typically regarding a socially normative behavior 鈥� they are more likely to act consistently with the social norm than someone merely reminded or encouraged to engage in the behavior.鈥�

The strongest explanation for this is the 鈥渃onsistency-based theory,鈥� he said: 鈥淏eing confronted with a question such as 鈥榃ill you vote in Tuesday鈥檚 election?鈥� forces nonvoters to reflect on the times when maybe their preferred candidate lost, and that doesn鈥檛 feel good.

鈥淭his mental state of discomfort is referred to as cognitive dissonance. There鈥檚 one clear way to eliminate this particular discomfort, and that鈥檚 to get out and vote. It鈥檚 either that or try to convince oneself that voting isn鈥檛 very important.鈥�

Spangenberg and colleagues from the State University of New York at Albany, the University of Idaho and Washington State University sought to document the basic nature of the question-behavior effect and understand how to practically implement it in a variety of contexts.

They analyzed nearly 40 years of research involving 104 studies and more than 2 million participants. Their work is the most rigorous and comprehensive investigation to date of the question-behavior phenomenon.

It concludes that asking people about a target behavior can produce consistent, significant changes in behavior and has many socially normative applications beyond voting, such as promoting exercise, reducing gender stereotypes and dissuading students from cheating on exams.

The study also suggests the best ways to pose these queries. Computer or pencil-and-paper surveys carry the most influential punch, but face-to-face contact, telephone calls and billboard advertising also work.

鈥淭he timing is good for presidential campaigns to get started raising questions,鈥� Spangenberg said. 鈥淚f strategically employed, the question-behavior technique could encourage turnout by targeted members of the electorate come November.鈥�

But he added one caveat: 鈥淲ith a behavior like voting, it鈥檚 important for campaigns to approach only their supporters. If opposition voters are queried, the question-behavior effect could benefit the other side.鈥�

About The Paul Merage School of Business at UC IrvineThe Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine offers four dynamic MBA programs 鈥� plus PhD, specialty master鈥檚 and undergraduate business degrees 鈥� that graduate business leaders with the exceptional ability to help grow their organizations through strategic innovation, analytical decision-making, information technology and collaborative execution. While the Merage School is relatively young, it has quickly grown to consistently rank among the top AACSB-accredited programs through exceptional student recruitment, world-class faculty, a strong alumni network and close relationships with both individual business executives and global corporations. Additional information is available at .