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Schematic Assessments of Presidential Candidates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Arthur H. Miller ,
Martin P. Wattenberg  and
Oksana Malanchuk
Arthur H. Miller
Affiliation:
University of Iowa
Martin P. Wattenberg
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Oksana Malanchuk
Affiliation:
Frank N. Magid Associates, Marion, Iowa
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Abstract

This article applies theories of social cognition in an investigation of the dimensions of the assessments of candidates employed by voters in the United States. An empirical description of the public's cognitive representations of presidential candidates, derived from responses to open-ended questions in the American National Election Studies from 1952 to 1984, reveals that perceptions of candidates are generally focused on “personality” characteristics rather than on issue concerns or partisan group connections. Contrary to the implications of past research, higher education is found to be correlated with a greater likelihood of using personality categories rather than with making issue statements. While previous models have interpreted voting on the basis of candidate personality as indicative of superficial and idiosyncratic assessments, the data examined here indicate that they predominately reflect performance-relevant criteria such as competence, integrity, and reliability. In addition, both panel and aggregate time series data suggest that the categories that voters have used in the past influence how they will perceive future candidates, implying the application of schematic judgments. The reinterpretation presented here argues that these judgments reflect a rich cognitive representation of the candidates from which instrumental inferences are made.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , June 1986 , pp. 521 - 540
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1986

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