When political candidates "go positive": the effects of flattering the rival in political communication. (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cavazza, Nicoletta
• Is Part Of: Social influence. Volume 11:Number 3(2016)
• Page Start: 166
• Page End: 176
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Flattery -- political communication -- trustworthiness -- suspicion of ulterior motive -- perception of persuasiveness; Social influence -- Periodicals; 302.13
• DOI: 10.1080/15534510.2016.1206962
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1553-4510

Abstract

Abstract: In the field of political communication, the effects of negative propaganda strategies have been long studied. In the current work, I investigated the perceived and actual persuasiveness of an unexplored positive propaganda strategy, i.e., addressing a flattery to the rival in a political speech. In a 2 × 2 full-factorial design experiment, a fictitious candidate (a man or a woman) flattered, or did not flatter, an opponent in a political speech. Results showed that when the candidate flattered a rival s/he influenced the likelihood of being voted through source trustworthiness evaluation, irrespective of the candidate's gender. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.