How Language Can Influence Political Marketing Strategy and a Candidate's Image: Effect of Presidential Candidates' Language Intensity and Experience on College Students' Ratings of Source Credibility

David E. Clementson, Paola Pascual-Ferrá, Michael J. Beatty

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present study examines the effects of language intensity on presidential candidates' credibility. We manipulated language intensity levels and experience levels for hypothetical candidates for president of the United States. Manipulation checks confirmed the effectiveness of the experimental conditions. The dimensions of source credibility, character, and authoritativeness were confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Analysis of variance indicated that candidates using low-intensity language received higher scores on character than did candidates using high-intensity language. Experienced candidates received higher scores on authoritativeness than did inexperienced candidates. Implications for political marketing of candidates are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)388-415
Number of pages28
JournalJournal of Political Marketing
Volume15
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2016

Keywords

  • language intensity
  • political marketing
  • presidential candidate
  • source credibility

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Marketing

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