Dual Screening During Presidential Debates: Political Nonverbals and Volume and Valence of Online Expression

• In Event: Election Debates: Exposure and Effects

Abstract

Research has long sought to identify the factors that matter most in citizens' responses to debate content, including what candidates say, how they say it, and the manner in which they appear. This study uses detailed codings of the first and third 2012 presidential debates to evaluate the impact of candidates’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors on viewers’ “second screen” responses. To examine the relationship between candidates’ on-screen behaviors and the social media response, we conduct GLS regression relating two data sources: (1) a shot-by-shot content analysis coded for rhetorical/functional, tonal, and visual elements of both candidates’ behavior during the debates, and (2) corresponding real-time measures of the volume and valence of online expression about the candidates on Twitter. We find that the nonverbal communication behaviors of candidates – their facial expressions, physical gestures, and blink rate – are consistent, robust, and significant predictors of the volume and valence of public expression during debates.

Authors

• Dhavan Shah, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison

• Alex Hanna, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Erik P. Bucy, Texas Tech University

• David Lassen, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Jack Thomme, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Kristen Bialik, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• JungHwan Yang, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Jon Pevehouse, U of Wisconsin-Madison