Does Presentation Style of Presidential Debates Influence Young Voters' Perceptions of Candidates?

Abstract

In this study, college students were exposed to the final 2004 Bush—Kerry televised presidential debate. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five presentation conditions (i.e., ABC, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, and PBS). Using a pretest—posttest experimental design, participants rated the candidates on 12 personal and professional attributes. A feeling thermometer also assessed whether the participants' feelings toward the candidates changed following the debate. The results suggest that various presentation styles influenced perceptions of Kerry on the attributes of success and friendliness and on the feeling thermometer. Changes in perceptions on the attribute of strength were also found for Bush.