Judging Political Hearts and Minds

Abstract

We investigated how judgments of political messengers depend upon what would benefit one's preferred candidate. In Study 1a, participants were asked to evaluate the warmth and competence of the writer of a pro- or anti-Obama political message for the 2012 presidential election (Obama/warm; Romney/competent). When judging the messages, warmth was emphasized by Democrats and competence by Republicans. Study 1b replicated these effects for messages about Romney as well. Study 2 examined the 2004 presidential election where perceptions of the party candidates' warmth and competence reversed (Bush/warm; Kerry/competent). There competence was emphasized by Democrats and warmth by Republicans. Study 3 showed that varying the warmth and competence of each party's prospective candidates for the 2016 election influences whether warmth or competence is emphasized by Democrats or Republicans. Thus, differences between Republicans and Democrats in emphasizing warmth or competence reflect a dynamic motivated cognition that is tailored to benefit their preferred candidate.

Micro-Expressions of Fear During the 2016 Presidential Campaign Trail: Their Influence on Trait Perceptions of Donald Trump

“…There is clear evidence that social behavior is evaluated into two major dimensions, whether based upon trait evaluations, broadly defined as competence and warmth/trustworthiness ( Fiske et al, 2007 ) or, when considering non-verbal behavior, as serving the social ends of dominance and affiliation, respectively ( Masters et al, 1986 ; Hareli et al, 2015 ; Stewart et al, 2015b ). Likewise, the two trait dimensions are ones that political figures have been evaluated on ( Kinder et al, 1980 ; Abelson et al, 1982 ), even though these dimensions may be valued differently based upon the perceived strengths of a political party’s candidate ( Cornwell et al, 2015 ) or the contextual requirements of the audience ( D’Errico, 2019 ).…”

Visual Presentation Style 2: Influences on Perceptions of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Based on Visual Presentation Style During the Third 2016 Presidential Debate

“…These trait perceptions may change in response to electoral events such as the presidential debates (Patterson, Churchill, Burger, & Powell, 1992; Wicks, 2007) with even short video clips of nonverbal behavior of political leaders influencing trait attributions (Bucy, 2000; Sullivan & Masters, 1994). As a result, it may be inferred that how candidates are able to present themselves nonverbally influences the traits attributed to them, although traits may be valued differently based on the perceived strengths of a political party’s candidate (Cornwell, Bajger, & Higgins, 2015). Considered in the context of political debates, this indicates individuals may be influenced by the production choices made concerning the visual presentation style (e.g., camera shots) used during the debates (Wicks, 2007).…”

“Liberate!” – Republicans Are More Willing to Get Back to Social Life Because They Are Less Scared of COVID-19

“…The debate on the priority given to either the public health or the economy is not new in American politics. Indeed, Republicans are reputed to emphasize the importance of applying policies related to economic growth, while Democrats are more often associated with the emphasis on the importance of pursuing health care policies (e.g., Cornwell et al, 2015).…”