In a multiparty system such as the Netherlands many voters realize that they are unaware of the precise differences between the various parties, even after reading the newspapers, or even the party manifestoes.

Due to the appraisal of internet consultants in newspapers and on television, many voters consider an advice from “de Stemwijzer” as an expression of their ‘true’ issue stances, because they are unaware of the selective nature of the issues addressed in the Stemwijzer and of the arbitrary nature of the decision rules that are used to arrive at an overall advice (e.g. compensatory or noncompensatory, weighted or unweighted by issue salience).