Page 121 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

114 The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

Figure 4.5 (Adapted from “Effects of television spots on images of Dole and
Clinton” by L.L. Kaid, 1997, American Behavioral Scientist, 40(8), pp. 1085–
1094. Adapted by permission.)

leads to a greater resistance to attitude change toward the candidate one
supports when voter attention is focused on the counter-candidate. The
negative ads used by Kaid (1997) represent profiling the voters’ thinking
into the categories “anti-Clinton” and “anti-Dole.”
Another famous advertisement is worth discussing here. It was entitled
“Daisy Girl,” and it represents a case of negative advertising meant to set
voters’ thinking into the “anti-Goldwater” category. The advertisement was
used in the 1964 U.S. presidential campaign, in which Lyndon Johnson
competed with Barry Goldwater. The advertisement was broadcast only
once, but it turned out to be extremely effective in building support for
Johnson (Diamond & Bates, 1992). In this case, the negativity effect was
strongly enhanced by the fear of nuclear doom evoked in the spot. The
reference to “fear appeal”—negative political advertising meant to arouse
fear—substantially enhances the persuasive appeal of the negative
message.
Stevens (2012) also conducted a comparative analysis of the impact of
positive and negative political advertisements. He noted an asymmetric at-
tention effect, by which he meant that negativity arouses emotions such as
fear, anxiety, and anger. These emotions cause viewers to focus most of their
attention on the negative bits of information presented in the advertisement.