Almost anyone with television or Internet access can report feeling irritated by negative political advertisements. Although the targets are different, all negative ads aim to dissuade citizens from voting for a certain candidate by presenting negative information on him or her. The information may be factual, such as controversial policies they enacted, or closer in nature to high school gossip. Many argue that although messages of fear and negativity are persuasive, negativity can also decrease participation. Krupnikov (2011) found that negativity demobilizes voters when they have already selected a preferred candidate and the negativity targets their preferred candidate.
All advertisements aside, citizens may find themselves barred …show more content…
Most political campaigns focus on candidates’ character and morals, especially those tied to partisan stereotypes. Democratic candidates that focus on welfare programs and overall equality are usually portrayed as compassionate and kind. Republican candidates that focus on maintaining family values and personal freedoms are usually portrayed as possessing integrity and strong leadership skills. No matter the issues they focus on, candidates seek to assert their morality. Candidates do so with good reason. When asked to evaluate someone, people tend to search for information on that person’s morality before assessing his or her competency or sociability (despite claiming how important the latter two traits are) (Clifford, 2015). All of the attention that citizens direct toward morals could explain why advertisements containing peripheral routes of persuasion are so convincing.
To no one’s shock, money is exceptionally influential for the previously mentioned advertisements. Research has found that political candidates who spend more on their election campaigns are more likely to win the election (Chun-Ping and Chien-Chiang, 2009). Between 2004 and 2008, presidential campaigns spent $750 million on television campaign advertising alone. According to previously mentioned research by Lee, Fernandes, and Painter, 2011, it was money well …show more content…
Specifically, how did a candidate like Sam Brownback win reelection in Kansas?
Cognitive dissonance may provide an explanation. Cognitive dissonance occurs when an inconsistency between one’s cognitions and one’s actions arises (Lashley, 2009). For example, cognitive dissonance may occur when a public school teacher votes for Sam Brownback, who tends to defund public education. To reduce the cognitive dissonance that those two ideas create, people tend to adjust their thinking using one of four methods: denial, dialectics, non-denial, and spin. The public school teacher may deny Governor Brownback’s defunding of education or may spin the facts to put his decisions in a more favorable light.
To best understand cognitive dissonance, consider the title of Jerry Siebenmark’s article: “Kansas small business owners say elimination of income tax is a big help.” This article is a response to the Governor Brownback’s previously mentioned income tax cuts—the same ones that results in a $2.7 billion deficit for the state of Kansas. Spin and non-denial are exemplified in this article (Lashley, 2009). Rather than focus on (or even mention) the other government programs that were severed to compensate for that deficit, the small-town business-owners were highlighted. Using methods like this, one can hate huge tax cuts and still find Governor
All advertisements aside, citizens may find themselves barred …show more content…
Most political campaigns focus on candidates’ character and morals, especially those tied to partisan stereotypes. Democratic candidates that focus on welfare programs and overall equality are usually portrayed as compassionate and kind. Republican candidates that focus on maintaining family values and personal freedoms are usually portrayed as possessing integrity and strong leadership skills. No matter the issues they focus on, candidates seek to assert their morality. Candidates do so with good reason. When asked to evaluate someone, people tend to search for information on that person’s morality before assessing his or her competency or sociability (despite claiming how important the latter two traits are) (Clifford, 2015). All of the attention that citizens direct toward morals could explain why advertisements containing peripheral routes of persuasion are so convincing.
To no one’s shock, money is exceptionally influential for the previously mentioned advertisements. Research has found that political candidates who spend more on their election campaigns are more likely to win the election (Chun-Ping and Chien-Chiang, 2009). Between 2004 and 2008, presidential campaigns spent $750 million on television campaign advertising alone. According to previously mentioned research by Lee, Fernandes, and Painter, 2011, it was money well …show more content…
Specifically, how did a candidate like Sam Brownback win reelection in Kansas?
Cognitive dissonance may provide an explanation. Cognitive dissonance occurs when an inconsistency between one’s cognitions and one’s actions arises (Lashley, 2009). For example, cognitive dissonance may occur when a public school teacher votes for Sam Brownback, who tends to defund public education. To reduce the cognitive dissonance that those two ideas create, people tend to adjust their thinking using one of four methods: denial, dialectics, non-denial, and spin. The public school teacher may deny Governor Brownback’s defunding of education or may spin the facts to put his decisions in a more favorable light.
To best understand cognitive dissonance, consider the title of Jerry Siebenmark’s article: “Kansas small business owners say elimination of income tax is a big help.” This article is a response to the Governor Brownback’s previously mentioned income tax cuts—the same ones that results in a $2.7 billion deficit for the state of Kansas. Spin and non-denial are exemplified in this article (Lashley, 2009). Rather than focus on (or even mention) the other government programs that were severed to compensate for that deficit, the small-town business-owners were highlighted. Using methods like this, one can hate huge tax cuts and still find Governor