Candidate Character Traits in the 2012 Presidential Election

Abstract

This article examines the effect of perceptions of the character traits of the presidential candidate on the vote in 2012. Barack Obama was perceived more favorably than Mitt Romney on empathy, integrity, and competence, and just as favorably on leadership. The more favorable perceptions of Obama were due to very unfavorable perceptions of Romney; perceptions of Obama were mixed and were less favorable than they were in 2008. Trait perceptions had a significant effect on the vote. Independents were most strongly affected, and they were particularly affected by perceptions of leadership and empathy. Democrats were influenced more by perceptions of empathy and competence, and Republicans were influenced more by leadership and integrity.

Honest politics: Evaluating candidate perceptions for the 2012 U. S. election with the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure

“…Perhaps their proObama biases may be explained by ideological compatibilityOthers reported an ideology on the Society Works Best scale more liberal than not just Republicans but also Democrats (although this difference was not assessed statistically). Alternatively, perhaps Others were representative of the Independents who were more likely to vote for Obama in part because of unfavorable regard for Romney (as suggested by Holian & Prysby, 2014) -although the selfreports of each candidate among Others in the current study were statistically neutral, the averages leaned weakly pro-Obama and weakly anti-Romney. In any case, these results may further challenge the notion of a singular, left vs. right dimension in the political culture of the United States, as Democrats viewed their party and their ideology as relatively moderate/centrist, while Others viewed themselves as a centrist group in respect to party identity but with the most liberal ideology.…”

“…In a recent study examining American National Election Study (ANES) data from the 2012 presidential election, Holian and Prysby (2014) found that partisans were less influenced by trait perceptions unless the opposing candidate's personal traits were perceived as being substantially better than those of their identifying party's candidate. Of note, trait perceptions had the largest impact among voters who identified as Independent.…”

“…The character traits most commonly identified as relevant for presidential elections are leadership, integrity, competence, and empathy (Holian & Prysby, 2014). According to theories of issue ownership (Petrocik, 1996), over time, political parties in the United States have developed reputations for owning, or skillfully handling, particular issues.…”

Mitt Romney, Mormonism, and the Media: Popular Depictions of a Religious Minority

“…McGowen and Palazzo make no mention of Romney's Mormon faith. Likewise, in an analysis of the character traits of the presidential candidates, David B. Holian and Charles Prysbys contend that Romney was an extremely “unlikeable” candidate, without mentioning his faith or how it may have influenced voter perceptions of likeability. He scored particularly low on “empathy” and had negative scores in “leadership,” “honesty,” and “caring.” Holian and Prysbys read this as a statement about Romney's own political flip‐flopping, given his transformation from former pro‐choice Governor of Massachusetts to viable conservative candidate (491).…”

The Newest Southerners: Generational Differences in Electoral Behavior in the Contemporary South

“…Candidate character traits were measured by an index that calculated the difference between Obama's mean score on six trait items and Romney's mean score on the same items. For details on this measure, see Holian and Prysby (2014).…”