Does Attack Advertising Demobilize the Electorate?

Stephen Ansolabehere, Shanto Iyengar, Adam Simon and Nicholas Valentino

American Political Science Review, 1994, vol. 88, issue 4, 829-838

Abstract: We address the effects of negative campaign advertising on turnout. Using a unique experimental design in which advertising tone is manipulated within the identical audiovisual context, we find that exposure to negative advertisements dropped intentions to vote by 5%. We then replicate this result through an aggregate-level analysis of turnout and campaign tone in the 1992 Senate elections. Finally, we show that the demobilizing effects of negative campaigns are accompanied by a weakened sense of political efficacy. Voters who watch negative advertisements become more cynical about the responsiveness of public officials and the electoral process.

Date: 1994
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