Just a Show? Effects of Televised Debates on Political Attitudes and Preferences in Slovakia

Abstract

The popularity of televised political debates is growing, attracting millions of viewers. However, evidence that such debates can shift voters’ attitudes is mixed and the impact on voters’ preference is also mixed. In addition, the evidence comes mostly from presidential elections in the United States and almost exclusively from established democracies. A call for comparative research in new democracies has been made several times. Our research answers the call and contributes to this debate by comparing two experimental studies based on first-order national elections and second-order European Parliament elections in Slovakia. To our knowledge, this is the first time such a study has been performed in a post-communist EU country. We employed a pre-test/post-test experimental design in a controlled environment with participants randomly assigned to both groups. The results show that debate exposure has a stronger effect on opinions about candidates’ leadership skills, credibility, and economic competence if the candidates were previously unknown. Familiarity with the candidates and pre-existing preferences also function as a block to preference change. Almost all of our findings are in line with previous research originating from Western contexts. Therefore, we conclude that the causal mechanism linking debate exposure to voters’ preference and attitudes in the post-communist context is similar to that in Western countries with long-term democratic traditions.

Feasting Our Eyes on the Candidates: Visual Cues in Televised Debates Prime Personality Traits of Lesser Known Candidates and Promote Learning

“…These results reveal that candidates’ previous notoriety influences the effects that visual cues may have on assessments of them: Televised debates may enhance the relevance of perceived personality traits over performance especially for new political contenders, who are relatively unknown to the general public. This result resonates with research showing stronger media, debate, or priming effects for lesser known candidates (Baboš and Világi 2018; Bartels 1993; Moy et al 2006; Young 2006; Zhu et al 1994). Interestingly, irrespective of mode of exposure, debate style only lowered the assessment of the least-known candidate, who was severely punished by the sharp rise in character-focused attacks in the second-round debate.…”

“…For instance, Pattie and Johnston's (2011) analysis of leaders' debates in the 2010 U.K. election concluded that even though party attachments and preexisting preferences affected evaluations of party leaders, debate performance was also a key factor. Also, Baboš and Világi (2018) showed that debates in Slovakia had a strong impact on opinions about the traits of previously unknown candidates, thus mirroring the findings of the U.S.-focused study by Zhu et al (1994). However, the above-mentioned literature has generally been unable to disentangle the specific effects of visual cues from the verbal and substantive information conveyed by the debates (but see Shah et al 2016).…”

“…Moreover, unlike the U.S. 1960 debate, which featured two extremely well-known political actors (both served as presidents, one died tragically and the other was involved in a major political scandal), Portugal’s 1986 debate involved two personalities who currently enjoy different levels of notoriety among the general public and particularly among the young. Research has shown that media effects in general (and debate effects in particular) tend to be stronger for lesser known candidates (e.g., Baboš and Világi 2018; Bartels 1993; Zhu et al 1994). Also, priming effects of TV shows—leading audiences to assess candidates based on the criteria those shows made salient—may be greater for those with no previous knowledge about the candidates (namely, about their issue positions; Young 2006) or challenger candidates (Moy et al 2006).…”

«De bare krangler». Nordmenns holdningertil TV-sendte valgdebatter

“…Uten å underspille disse forskjellene, kan vi like fullt konkludere med at debatter mellom politikere på TV kan styrke den politiske kunnskapen og holdningene til politikk og samtidig påvirke seernes valg, og at de følgelig også kan oppleves som positive og oppbyggelige av de velgerne som ser på dem. Dette støttes også av funn fra andre land (Babos & Vilagi, 2018). Et gjennomgående funn er imidlertid at slike kvaliteter avhenger av en rekke faktorer, som hvor kjent kandidatene og sakene er for velgerne og hvor viktig valget oppleves.…”

Historia, evolución, audiencia y agenda temática de los debates electorales televisados en España dentro del contexto europeo

“…Los candidatos consolidados y favoritos, principalmente cuando están en el poder, son los más reacios a aceptar los debates para no incrementar el conocimiento de sus contrincantes (Garro, 2019). Pese a la a mediatización, los debates ofrecen un espacio para la confrontación y refuerzan opiniones sobre las habilidades de liderazgo, credibilidad y competencia económica si son desconocidas previamente (Babos y Vilagi, 2018; López-García, Llorca-Abad y Valera-Ordaz, 2018).…”