Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion)

297 Pages·2005·2.12 MB·English

by  Ted Brader

campaigning for hearts and minds
studies in communication, media, and public opinion
A series edited by Susan Herbst and Benjamin I. Page
Campaigning for Hearts and Minds
How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work
t e d b r a d e r
The University of Chicago Press chicago and london
ted braderis assistant professor of political science and faculty
associate at the Center for Political Studies of the Institute for Social
Research at the University of Michigan.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2006by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2006
Printed in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 1 2 3 4 5
isbn: 0-226-06988-5(cloth)
isbn: 0-226-06989-3(paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brader, Ted.
Campaigning for hearts and minds : how emotional appeals in
political ads work / Ted Brader.
p. cm. — (Studies in communication, media, and public
opinion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-226-06988-5(cloth : alk. paper) — isbn0-226-06989-3
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Political psychology. 2. Advertising, political. 3. Communication
in politics. 4. Persuasion (Psychology) 5. Emotions and cognition.
I. Title. II. Series.
ja74.5.b69 2006
324.7'3—dc22
2005009159
oThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansiz39.48-1992.
For my parents, Jeanine and Jim Forney
and
in memory of my father, Kenneth

Contents
List of Tables and Figures ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Appealing to Hopes and Fears 1
2 The Art and Science of Campaigning 17
3 The Political Psychology of Emotional Appeals 48
4 Emotion and the Motivational Power of Campaign Ads 73
5 Emotion and the Persuasive Power of Campaign Ads 109
6 Emotional Appeals in Ad Campaigns 147
7 Hearts and Minds: Rethinking the Role of Emotion in Political Life 177
Appendix A.Experiments: Question Wording and Sample 199
Appendix B.Multivariate Statistical Analyses: Full Results 208
Appendix C.Advertising Content Analysis: Coding Rules 213
Notes 219
References 251
Index 273

Tables and Figures
Tables
4.1 Effects of Emotional Cues on Interest, Motivation to Participate, and 95
Belief in the Importance of Voting
4.2 Responsiveness to Enthusiasm Cues by Level of Political Sophistication 100
4.3 Responsiveness to Fear Cues by Level of Political Sophistication 101
5.1 Effects of Emotional Cues on Vote Choice and Comparative Affect 123
5.2 Effect of Emotional Cues on Interest in Watching Television News 139
5.3 Responsiveness to Emotional Cues by Level of Political Sophistication 141
6.1 Distribution of Emotional Appeals in the 1999and 2000Elections 154
A.1 Profile of the Sample and State Populations 206
A.2 Profile of the Research Site Communities 207
B.1 Multivariate Analysis of Effects of Emotional Cues on Motivation 209
B.2 Further Multivariate Analysis of Effects of Emotional Cues on Motivation 210
B.3 Multivariate Analysis of Effects of Emotional Cues on Persuasion 211
B.4 Multivariate Analysis of Effects of Emotional Cues on Interest in 212
Watching Television News
C.1 Coding of Partisan Advantage in All Fifty States 218
Figures
1.1 Feel-Good Ads Reassure and Inspire Voters with Uplifting 7
Tunes and Colorful Images of Family, Country, and Prosperity
1.2 Fear Ads Stir Anxiety among Voters with Ominous Music and 9
Dark Images of War, Crime, Pollution, and Other Threats
1.3 Unimpassioned Ads Stand Out as Exceptions that Prove the Rule by 12
Stressing Words, While Still Using Mildly Evocative Sounds and Images
2.1 Conventional Wisdom about Emotional Appeals 24
2.2 Consultant and Journalist Opinions about Emotions and Campaign 26
Advertising