TY - JOUR
T1 - Negative Effects of Calling Attention to Female Political Candidates’ Attractiveness
AU - Lizotte, Mary Kate
AU - Meggers-Wright, Heather J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Given the focus of the media on female candidate appearance in the 2008 presidential election, this research investigates the effects on voter evaluations of calling attention to female candidate attractiveness. The current research hypothesizes that pointing out candidate attractiveness likely has a negative effect on subsequent evaluations and reports of vote likelihood, particularly for female candidates. Role congruity theory, which argues that evidence of prejudice against female leaders is the result of a discrepancy between people’s stereotypes of women and their stereotypes of leaders, provides an explanation for these findings. This study establishes the negative influence of calling attention to a candidate’s attractiveness. In particular, a female candidate described as attractive are evaluated more negatively than a male candidate described as attractive and compared to male and female candidates, who are not described as attractive.
AB - Given the focus of the media on female candidate appearance in the 2008 presidential election, this research investigates the effects on voter evaluations of calling attention to female candidate attractiveness. The current research hypothesizes that pointing out candidate attractiveness likely has a negative effect on subsequent evaluations and reports of vote likelihood, particularly for female candidates. Role congruity theory, which argues that evidence of prejudice against female leaders is the result of a discrepancy between people’s stereotypes of women and their stereotypes of leaders, provides an explanation for these findings. This study establishes the negative influence of calling attention to a candidate’s attractiveness. In particular, a female candidate described as attractive are evaluated more negatively than a male candidate described as attractive and compared to male and female candidates, who are not described as attractive.
KW - Candidate appearance
KW - candidate evaluations
KW - candidate gender
KW - candidate stereotyping
KW - role congruity theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041002980&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85041002980&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15377857.2017.1411859
DO - 10.1080/15377857.2017.1411859
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85041002980
SN - 1537-7857
VL - 18
SP - 240
EP - 266
JO - Journal of Political Marketing
JF - Journal of Political Marketing
IS - 3
ER -