Political Affiliation and Presidential Debates

A Real-Time Analysis of the Effect of the Arguments Used in the Presidential Debates

Bibliographic Data

ID3757294
AuthorsJeffrey W Jarman (Wichita State University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume49
Issue2
Pages229-242
Publication date2005-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764205280921
OpenAlexW2032101732
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited11

This study reports the reactions by registered voters to the second presidential debate in 2004. Respondents used a continuous response system that provided feedback in 1-second intervals. These data were compared to a transcript of the debate to identify the strongest and weakest arguments made by candidates both for their own party and for the opposition party. Results suggest that political affiliation strongly influences audience reaction in two ways: (a) Republicans always rated Bush's comments higher than Democrats, whereas Democrats always rated Kerry's comments higher than Republicans; and (b) Republicans believed that Bush won the debate, whereas Democrats believed that Kerry won the debate. This research provides new support for the conclusion that debates tend to reinforce the preexisting positions of the audience but offers a warning that the amount of learning that takes place could be limited

Opposition (politics) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presidential campaign · Presidential election · Presidential system · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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