Political Attitudes Moderate the Effects of Attacks and Defenses on Candidate Evaluations in Televised Debates

• In Event: The Role of Candidates and Issues in Voting Behaviour

Abstract

Although there is plenty of research on the effects and on the contents of televised debates, little is known about the link between characteristics of the debate content and the candidate evaluations during the debate. In this article, we investigate whether the message function (acclaim, attack, defense) has an effect on the candidate evaluations, and how this effect is moderated by political attitudes. We conducted two quasi-experimental studies that combined pre-debate surveys, continuous response measurements of candidate evaluations, and content analyses of the candidate statements. An innovative multi-level framework was developed to analyze the data from the three sources at the individual level. The results provide some evidence that the effects of the message functions were moderated by pre-debate political attitudes. However, in comparison to the unconditional effects of political attitudes, the moderated effects of the message functions were of limited magnitude.

Author

• Marko Bachl, U of Hohenheim