I have another post up over at Psychology Today, which has been included in a special feature on ‘The Science Behind Politics.’
This time I’m talking about negative political campaigning:
…The US Presidential Primaries have been widely maligned as a parade of interpersonal nastiness, the UK referendum is accused of being awash with scaremongering, and in the Irish case, one political leader denied engaging in negative campaigning even when unveiling a poster depicting his direct opponent as a threat to health and a champion of the rich elite.
Why does this always seem to happen? Surely this type of schoolyard mudslinging risks alienating voters?
…[A] newly published study—based on actual voting behavior, rather than opinion poll responses—shows that citizens are clearly influenced by negative campaigning, and reward politicians for using it.
What makes this particular study intriguing was its experimental design…
Feel free to read the rest here.
Brian Hughes is an academic psychologist and university professor in Galway, Ireland, specialising in stress, health, and the application of psychology to social issues. He writes widely on the psychology of empiricism and of empirically disputable claims, especially as they pertain to science, health, medicine, and politics.