The Minimal Cue Hypothesis: How Black Candidates Cue Race to Increase White Voting Participation

Petrow, Gregory A.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2010.00784.x

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…The findings here also contribute to recent research examining the possibility that pro-Black attitudes may actually lead some Whites to favor Black candidates (Kinder & Dale-Riddle, 2011;Petrow, 2010;Sniderman & Stiglitz, 2009;Tesler, 2012;Tesler & Sears, 2010;Weaver, 2012). While previous analyses of this possibility have primarily relied on observational data, making causal inference difficult, the experimental results presented here are suggestive of both the power and the limits of pro-Black attitudes.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 70%

“…We expect different results for White individuals who are positively predisposed or "sympathetic" toward Blacks, some of whom may actually prefer Black candidates (see Colleau et al, 1990;Kinder & Dale-Riddle, 2011;Petrow, 2010;Sniderman & Stiglitz, 2009;Tesler, 2012;Tesler & Sears, 2010;Weaver, 2012, for evidence of White preference for Black candidates). Since such voters are positively predisposed toward Black candidates, they may actually be more likely to judge Black-sponsored negativity to be situational than White-sponsored negativity.…”

Section: Theory: How Candidate Race Conditions the Effect Of Campaignmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Accentuating the Negative: Candidate Race and Campaign Strategy

Krupnikov

Piston²

2015

Political Communication

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This article examines the impact of candidate race and campaign negativity on candidate evaluations and turnout. Unlike previous research, we argue that candidate race and campaign negativity should be considered simultaneously. In order to test this argument, we conduct a survey experiment of a nationally representative sample of White adults and a replication study. While we find, consistent with previous research, that respondents unfavorably evaluate candidates who decide to sponsor a negative ad, there are two important exceptions to this pattern: When the ad sponsor is Black, among White respondents who view Blacks negatively, the penalty for going negative is disproportionately large, while among White respondents who view Blacks positively, the penalty for going negative is disproportionately small. More generally, our findings suggest that the effects of candidate attributes and campaign strategy on voter behavior should not be considered in isolation, as they are mutually reinforcing.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Theory: How Candidate Race Conditions the Effect Of Campaignmentioning

confidence: 94%

Accentuating the Negative: Candidate Race and Campaign Strategy

Krupnikov

Piston²

2015

Political Communication

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“…It is well established that African American candidates pose a major issue for many White voters (Block, ). However, it is unclear what specifically about Mr. Obama's own racial background and features aroused the resistance of many Whites and, for instance, increased their voting participation (Petrow, ). Was it Mr. Obama's darker skin tone that motivated the majority of White U.S. voters to vote against him (e.g., Pew Center, )?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biases in the Perception of Barack Obama's Skin Tone

Kemmelmeier

Chávez

2014

Anal Soc Iss & Public Policy

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White Americans higher in prejudice were less likely to vote for Barack Obama than other Americans. Recent research also demonstrated that supporters and opponents of Mr. Obama engaged in skin tone biases, i.e., they perceive Mr. Obama's skin tone as lighter or darker in line with more positive or negative views of him. Across two studies we hypothesized that skin tone biases occur as a function of two independent sources: racial prejudice, which is always related to skin tone bias, and political partisanship, which is related to skin tone bias primarily during elections. Study 1 assessed perceptions of Mr. Obama's skin tone shortly before and after the 2008 Presidential election, and shortly after the first inauguration. Study 2 assessed perceptions in the middle of his first term, immediately prior to the 2012 Presidential election, and 1 year into his second term in office. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that partisan skin tone bias was limited to the election period, whereas prejudice-based skin tone biases occurred independent from any election.With the election of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States, a racial barrier fell: For the first time, an African American and a biracial individual had been elected to the highest office in the land. 1 However, as recent research demonstrates, Mr. Obama's election did not signify an end of racial bias with implicit and explicit racism being a major predictor as to whether voters supported ].We are indebted to Kevin Lanning for his editorial guidance as well as three anonymous reviewers whose insights and criticism helped to improve this article. We gratefully acknowledge the counsel of Michael Webster who inspired the Study 2 paradigm. 1 Barack Obama is the son of a White American mother and an African father, and this mixedrace parentage is likely responsible for his middling skin tone, which is the focus of the present research. However, Mr. Obama tends to identify himself as African American, and his race tends to be categorized by the majority of the U.S. population in the same way. Therefore, this article will refer to him as African American.

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“…Conover and Feldman (1989) show that citizens quickly infer information about a political candidate's issue positions and traits with relatively little information about the candidate. In particular, respondents often infer certain qualities about candidates based almost exclusively on candidates’ phenotypical characteristics such as their race (Petrow 2010).…”

Section: Candidate's Traits and Turnoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obamacares: Candidate Traits, Descriptive Representation, and Black Political Participation

Stout

2018

J. Race Ethnicity Politics

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While a number of studies demonstrate that black candidates have the ability to increase black political participation, a growing literature is investigatingwhydescriptive representation matters. This paper contributes to this discussion by exploring whether perceptions of candidate traits play a mediating role between the presence of an African American candidate on the ballot and increases in black political activity. I test this trait hypothesis using data from the 1992–2012 American National Election Study, a survey experiment, and statistical mediation analysis. The results indicate that perceptions of black candidates as being better leaders, more empathetic, knowledgeable, intelligent, honest, and moral explain a substantial amount of why descriptive representation increases black political participation across a range of different political activities. In the conclusion, I discuss the importance of the psychological link between blacks and their co-racial representatives in inspiring higher levels of political participation.

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The Minimal Cue Hypothesis: How Black Candidates Cue Race to Increase White Voting Participation

Cited by 20 publications

References 59 publications

Accentuating the Negative: Candidate Race and Campaign Strategy

Accentuating the Negative: Candidate Race and Campaign Strategy

Biases in the Perception of Barack Obama's Skin Tone

Obamacares: Candidate Traits, Descriptive Representation, and Black Political Participation

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