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Gender, Political Attack Ads, & Voter Mobilization

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Michelle Carpenter
Michelle Carpenter

This study examined the effects of uncivil political attack advertisements on men and women's reported voting intentions. The researchers hypothesized that men would be more negatively affected by uncivil ads and thus report higher voting intentions against the ad target compared to women. An experiment was conducted with 67 participants who viewed either a civil or uncivil ad. Results showed that men who saw the uncivil ad reported much higher voting intentions against the target (60%) compared to men who saw the civil ad (43%). In contrast, women's reported voting intentions were only slightly higher after viewing the uncivil ad (28%) versus the civil ad (21%).

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Gender, Civility, and Voting Intent: Image-Attack Political Advertising and Mobilization by Gender A Study by Michelle Carpenter, Therese Smith, and Jacky Cao
Lit Review/Setting ? First political attack ads C 1964 ? Since then, researchers have been interested in the different variables that influence effectiveness of the ads. ? Many studies focused on gender as it pertains to the ad sponsor or target. ? We wanted to understand how the gender of the viewer could influence the perceptions and effects of the ad.
Rationale & Thesis H1: Men will be disproportionately affected by a negativity bias after viewing an uncivil political advertisement, and will therefore report a voting intention at a higher rate against the target of the uncivil political ad as compared to women. H2: Men will report a disproportionately higher voting intention after viewing a negative political ad as compared to women.
Methods We conducted a short experimental survey using randomized treatment with a civil or uncivil political advertisement. The sample breakdown is as follows: ? Males: 34/67 (50.7%) ? Females: 32/67 (47.8%) ? One participant did not disclose gender. Stimulus breakdown by gender: ? Among Males: 41.2% viewed the civil ad, 58.8% viewed the uncivil ad ? Among Females: 43.8% viewed the civil ad, 56.3% viewed the uncivil ad
Ways to Measure We operationalized constructs for accuracy by asking multi-part questions and averaging the responses, then generalizing to a scale. For example, voting intention: We presented 4 circumstances which could make the act of voting easy or difficult and asked respondents to indicate their voting intention (1 is very likely, 5 is very unlikely.) Then we average the responses together and rank them as follows: Average < 2 (Very Likely) 2 < Average < 3 (Somewhat Likely) 3 < Average < 4 (Somewhat Unlikely) 4 < Average < 5 (Very Unlikely)
Results General Findings ? 22.4% of respondents identified as independent on the political spectrum, which was particularly prevalent among respondents ages 18-24 (30% within the group.) ? Overall, women report high voting intention 56% of the time and low voting intention 44% of the time. ? This compares to a reported male high voting intention of 70% and a low reported overall voting intention of 30%.
Men who viewed the uncivil attack ad: ? 60% report a very high voting intention after treatment with the uncivil ad. ? To put this in perspective, 43% of men who received the civil ad treatment report a very high voting intention. Women who viewed the uncivil attack ad: ? 28% report a very high voting intention after treatment with the uncivil ad. ? To put this in perspective, 21% of women who received the civil ad treatment report a very high voting intention.

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Gender, Political Attack Ads, &amp; Voter Mobilization

  • 1. Gender, Civility, and Voting Intent: Image-Attack Political Advertising and Mobilization by Gender A Study by Michelle Carpenter, Therese Smith, and Jacky Cao
  • 2. Lit Review/Setting ? First political attack ads C 1964 ? Since then, researchers have been interested in the different variables that influence effectiveness of the ads. ? Many studies focused on gender as it pertains to the ad sponsor or target. ? We wanted to understand how the gender of the viewer could influence the perceptions and effects of the ad.
  • 3. Rationale & Thesis H1: Men will be disproportionately affected by a negativity bias after viewing an uncivil political advertisement, and will therefore report a voting intention at a higher rate against the target of the uncivil political ad as compared to women. H2: Men will report a disproportionately higher voting intention after viewing a negative political ad as compared to women.
  • 4. Methods We conducted a short experimental survey using randomized treatment with a civil or uncivil political advertisement. The sample breakdown is as follows: ? Males: 34/67 (50.7%) ? Females: 32/67 (47.8%) ? One participant did not disclose gender. Stimulus breakdown by gender: ? Among Males: 41.2% viewed the civil ad, 58.8% viewed the uncivil ad ? Among Females: 43.8% viewed the civil ad, 56.3% viewed the uncivil ad
  • 5. Ways to Measure We operationalized constructs for accuracy by asking multi-part questions and averaging the responses, then generalizing to a scale. For example, voting intention: We presented 4 circumstances which could make the act of voting easy or difficult and asked respondents to indicate their voting intention (1 is very likely, 5 is very unlikely.) Then we average the responses together and rank them as follows: Average < 2 (Very Likely) 2 < Average < 3 (Somewhat Likely) 3 < Average < 4 (Somewhat Unlikely) 4 < Average < 5 (Very Unlikely)
  • 6. Results General Findings ? 22.4% of respondents identified as independent on the political spectrum, which was particularly prevalent among respondents ages 18-24 (30% within the group.) ? Overall, women report high voting intention 56% of the time and low voting intention 44% of the time. ? This compares to a reported male high voting intention of 70% and a low reported overall voting intention of 30%.
  • 7. Men who viewed the uncivil attack ad: ? 60% report a very high voting intention after treatment with the uncivil ad. ? To put this in perspective, 43% of men who received the civil ad treatment report a very high voting intention. Women who viewed the uncivil attack ad: ? 28% report a very high voting intention after treatment with the uncivil ad. ? To put this in perspective, 21% of women who received the civil ad treatment report a very high voting intention.