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 |
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| Authors: | David E. Clementson Paola Pascual-Ferrá Michael J. Beatty |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA;2. Department of Communication, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;3. School of Communication, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA |
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| 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. |
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| Keywords: | language intensity political marketing presidential candidate source credibility |
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