This phenomenon occurs when voters express more favorable opinions in polls than they actually hold at the ballot box.

• A. Bandwagon effect
• B. Exit poll
• C. Covert content
• D. Bradley effect

Answer: (D)

Voters sometimes tailor their poll responses to look more favorable, especially on sensitive issues like race, which creates a gap between what people say in polls and how they actually vote. This discrepancy is known as the Bradley effect, named after Tom Bradley, the African American candidate in the 1982 California governor’s race. In that election, polls suggested Bradley would win, but many people who claimed support for him in surveys ended up voting for his white opponent, due to wanting to appear nonracist or socially acceptable. The other options describe different ideas: the bandwagon effect is about following the apparent majority, exit polls are surveys conducted after voting, and covert content isn’t a standard term for this context.