Why Is Research on the Effects of Negative Campaigning So Inconclusive? Understanding Citizens’ Perceptions of Negativity

Prior research has produced inconclusive results concerning the effects of negative campaigning. Researchers’ reliance on encyclopedic, even-handed measures of the tone of campaigns may help account for this inconsistency, for such measures are unlikely to reflect the way that most citizens process...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of politics 2003-02, Vol.65 (1), p.142-160
Main Authors: Sigelman, Lee, Kugler, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bias
Candidates
Citizens
Effects
Error of Measurement
Governors
Information Processing
Modeling
Perception tests
Perceptions
Political advertising
Political Campaigns
Political candidates
Political partisanship
Social Perception
Television commercials
Upper houses
Voting
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Summary:Prior research has produced inconclusive results concerning the effects of negative campaigning. Researchers’ reliance on encyclopedic, even-handed measures of the tone of campaigns may help account for this inconsistency, for such measures are unlikely to reflect the way that most citizens process information about campaigns. Testing this argument by analyzing data from three 1998 gubernatorial campaigns, we observe a lack of consensus in citizens’ perceptions of these campaigns, a lack of convergence between citizens’ perceptions and social science-style classifications of these campaigns, and an array of biasing factors in citizens’ perceptions.
ISSN:0022-3816
1468-2508
DOI:10.1111/1468-2508.t01-1-00007