ArticlePDF Available

The Image and the Vote: The Effect of Candidate Presentation on Voter Preference

Wiley
American Journal of Political Science
Authors:
Shawn Rosenberg at University of California, Irvine
Shawn Rosenberg
Lisa Bohan
Lisa Bohan
Lisa Bohan
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Patrick McCafferty
Patrick McCafferty
Patrick McCafferty
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Kevin Harris
Kevin Harris
Kevin Harris
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

It is generally assumed that a political candidate's appearance and style have an impact on voters and the choices they make on election day. Little research, however, has been done to investigate this claim. Here, the authors examine the role that these nonverbal aspects of candidate presentation play in the process of political communication. In the course of two related studies, the impact of candidate photographs appearing on campaign flyers is assessed. The results suggest that these photographs influence voters' perceptions of a candidate and this significantly affects their vote.
Content uploaded by Shawn Rosenberg
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Shawn Rosenberg on Apr 23, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
The Image and the Vote: The Effect of Candidate Presentation on Voter Preference
Shawn W. Rosenberg; Lisa Bohan; Patrick McCafferty; Kevin Harris
American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 30, No. 1. (Feb., 1986), pp. 108-127.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0092-5853%28198602%2930%3A1%3C108%3ATIATVT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3
American Journal of Political Science is currently published by Midwest Political Science Association.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained
prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in
the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/journals/mpsa.html.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic
journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers,
and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take
advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
http://www.jstor.org
Wed Nov 21 16:11:47 2007
... This politically suitable appearance was identified as a formal, business-style presentation with conservative style, hair, and make-up. These results were based on data from the Netherlands and Belgium and corroborated previous research on political suitability in the US by Rosenberg (1986). However, the impact of digital strategies in visual erepresentation is still overlooked, especially in the political field. ...
... These results corroborated existing research on the influence of physical appearance in politics (Foti, Fraser, & Lord, 1982;Hinckley, Hofstetter, & Kessel, 1974;Jacobson, 1981;Kinder & Abelson, 1981;Lau, 1984;Lilleker & Koc-Michalska, 2013;Mann & Wolfinger, 1980;Markus & Converse, 1979;Miller, Wattenberg, & Malanchuk, 1982;Ragsdale, 1980;Wright, 1974). These studies indicated that impressions of intelligence, leadership, and trustworthiness contributed significantly to a politically suitable image (Rosenberg, Bohan, McCafferty & Harris, 1986;Rosenberg, Kahn, Tran, & Le, 1991). ...
Making Sense of Political Images on Instagram: Analysing the Online Image and Impression Management of World Leaders versus Belgian Politicians. A Comparison of Two Case Studies
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2024
For the past decade, informality seems to be playing an increasing role in the branding strategies of politicians around the world. Ongoing individualization and privatization have encouraged candidates to share personal pictures of themselves on social media platforms, highlighting the human side behind the leader. Although visuals are omnipresent in digital media, little is known about how people interact and engage with the presented content. Perception politics and impression management techniques can help to create a favourable public persona (Diedkova, De Landtsheer & De Vries, 2019) – in this case through an Instagram post. Drawing on the perception politics management framework, which postulates that a more serious and formal presentation of a political candidate leads to higher support and an elevated perception of political suitability for candidates, it is assumed that the presence of formal attributes on a post has a positive effect on engagement. In order to explore voter’s perception of political suitability, a comprehensive visual analysis was repeated within two different geographical contexts: 1) Belgian politicians and parties and 2) world leaders. Data was collected via a real-time object detection program called ‘You Only Look Once’ in the programming language Python. The results indicate that – though one might expect that political communication should adhere to the informal character of social media to garner more voter engagement – the image that resonates best with the voter is a formal one – similar to the pre-social media age.
View
... Despite Fountaine's (2017) argument, other scholars in the United States and Europe have found that character/likeability alone does not translate to suitability for political office and can sometimes be confused with authenticity (e.g. De Vries, 2023; Rosenberg et al., 1986). These tensions imply that assessing the manifestation of authenticity in political communication remains a complex and nuanced endeavor. ...
Mediated self-presentation, authenticity, and image construction: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of an African Vice President’s communication on Twitter
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2025
Given the paucity of studies on the communicative approaches employed by vice presidents in political public relations and studies on Africa in public relations, the current study analyzes how the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, enacted authenticity to construct his public image on Twitter. The study used Multimodal Discourse Analysis to analyze 161 tweets, finding the manifestation of cues of authenticity: ordinariness, consistency, immediacy, and intimacy in Dr. Bawumia’s display of strategic humility and respect, his commitment to technology and Information, Communication, and Technology in Ghana, and his leadership by example. We argue that he constructs the image of an exemplary, caring, trustworthy, pious, and proactive leader, which helps him to build social and political capital. Implications of our study for public communication are discussed.
View
... The proposed study would build on work showing implicit neurofeedback can be used to modify facial preferences. This finding raises concerns about political influence, given the literature demonstrating that favourable impressions of how candidates look may have a substantial impact on voting behaviour [53]. As political influence is typically regulated by requiring disclosure, it is important to know whether disclosure can effectively mitigate the impact of neurofeedback. ...
Neurofeedback: potential for abuse and regulatory frameworks in the United States
Article
Full-text available
Neurofeedback is a brain-training technique that continues to develop via ongoing innovations, and that has broadening potential impact. Once confined primarily to clinical and research settings, it is increasingly being used in the general population. Such development raises concerns about the current regulatory mechanisms and their adequacy in protecting patterns of economic and political decision-making from the novel technology. As studies have found neurofeedback to change subjects’ preferences and mental associations covertly, there is a possibility it will be abused for political and commercial gains. Current regulatory practices (including disclaimer requirements, unfair and deceptive trade practice statutes and undue influence law) may be avenues from which to regulate neurofeedback influence. They are, however, limited. Regulating neurofeedback will face the line-drawing problem of determining when it induces an unacceptable level of influence. We suggest experiments that will clarify how the parameters of neurofeedback training affect its level of influence. In addition, we assert that the reactive nature of the traditional models of regulation will be inadequate against this and other rapidly transforming technologies. An integrated and proactive regulatory system designed for flexibility must be adopted to protect society in this era of modern technological advancement. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Neurofeedback: new territories and neurocognitive mechanisms of endogenous neuromodulation’.
View
View
Candidate Impressions and Evaluations
Chapter
  • Jun 2011
Laboratory experiments, survey experiments and field experiments occupy a central and growing place in the discipline of political science. The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science is the first text to provide a comprehensive overview of how experimental research is transforming the field. Some chapters explain and define core concepts in experimental design and analysis. Other chapters provide an intellectual history of the experimental movement. Throughout the book, leading scholars review groundbreaking research and explain, in personal terms, the growing influence of experimental political science. The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science provides a collection of insights that can be found nowhere else. Its topics are of interest not just to researchers who are conducting experiments today, but also to researchers who think that experiments can help them make new and important discoveries in political science and beyond.
View
Economics versus Psychology Experiments: Stylization, Incentives, and Deception
Chapter
  • Jun 2011
Laboratory experiments, survey experiments and field experiments occupy a central and growing place in the discipline of political science. The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science is the first text to provide a comprehensive overview of how experimental research is transforming the field. Some chapters explain and define core concepts in experimental design and analysis. Other chapters provide an intellectual history of the experimental movement. Throughout the book, leading scholars review groundbreaking research and explain, in personal terms, the growing influence of experimental political science. The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science provides a collection of insights that can be found nowhere else. Its topics are of interest not just to researchers who are conducting experiments today, but also to researchers who think that experiments can help them make new and important discoveries in political science and beyond.
View
View
View
‘Behold, it’s new’: Photojournalism and political communication in Zimbabwe
Article
  • Apr 2024
Visuals hold a special place in the field of communication. Politicians, in a move to position themselves or market their activities, use visuals that stand as a testimony to their principles. However, their importance and value in political communication are not highly reflected in academic literature. This article is built from this understudied field by looking at the role photojournalists play in framing opposition political parties in Zimbabwe. Photographs are important tools in politics as evidenced by experimental research on political communication that found that ‘a single photograph can have a clear impact on voters’ judgements regarding a candidate’s demeanour, competence, leadership ability, attractiveness, likeableness, and integrity’. This study seeks to analyse photographs that were used by photojournalists to frame the newly formed political party, amidst the power struggles within the party, and political repression from the authoritarian regime. Informed by visual framing, the study found that photojournalists framed Nelson Chamisa as youthful and vibrant while his party was seen as resembling the new dawn. However, photographs also showed that Chamisa and his party had nothing to offer as they did not have a constitution, guiding policy nor a clear ideology.
View
Three stories of one truth? Visual framing of AP, CNN & FOX news Instagram coverage of the 2020 US presidential candidates
Article
  • May 2023
  • Vis Stud
Framing bias was suggested in earlier research and media outlets have been accused of partisan tendencies in accordance with the political leanings they are supposedly associated with in popular imagination. The 2008 election cycle presented compelling evidence for the influence wielded by social media platforms in political communication, thereby establishing them as critical tools for candidates’ electoral campaigns. The consequential role played by these digital platforms in electioneering has been increasingly recognized in the years since, cementing their centrality to contemporary political journalism. Instagram is one such medium for distributing news. The visual platform provides news media outlets with the ability to distribute their content produced in non-native formats not original to the platform. This predominant visual approach is ideal for political news coverage and the visual framing of the presidential candidates by the media. This study looks for differences in visual framing of 2020 US presidential candidates, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump, through the analysis of pictures posted on the Instagram accounts of the Associated Press, CNN, and Fox News to identify any partisan tendencies in their choices of images. No evidence was found of any substantial partisan tendencies in terms of frame choices in all three mainstream news outlets. Nevertheless, the findings from a two-sample test of proportions indicate that Fox News demonstrated a statistically significant bias towards Trump in terms of the number of frames allocated to him in comparison to Biden during their coverage. Implications of the findings for visual political communication are discussed.
View
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.