Does Consistency Matter? Perception and Persuasiveness of Value Appeals in Populist Communication

• In Event: Understanding the Effects of Populist Messages

Abstract

Values are important elements of political communication. Political actors use them to legitimize their positions, and voters base their choices on values they consider important. Although research has shown that political actors benefit from appealing to values that resonate with their audience’s value preferences, it remains still an open question to what extent this can be exploited. How do individuals react to value appeals that are inconsistent with the communicator’s value reputation? This paper examines this question in the context of right-wing populist parties, who are strongly associated with conservative values. In two experiments, the effects of consistent (conservative) and inconsistent (self-transcendence) value appeals on perception (study 1) and persuasion (study 2) are investigated. It is expected that consistent values will be perceived stronger than inconsistent values, but that both kind of appeals can be persuasive when they match with the audience’s value orientation. The results confirm these expectations and show that especially individuals with lower formal education can be persuaded to support right-wing populist claims when these are promoted with inconsistent value appeals that match the audience’s value preferences.

Author

• Dominique Stefanie Wirz, U of Zurich