THE IMAGE AND THE VOTE MANIPULATING VOTERS' PREFERENCES

Concern is often expressed regarding the ability of campaign consultants to shape candidates' images and, thereby, influence electoral outcomes. Despite this concern, little attempt has been made to investigate whether candidates' images can be shaped in a way that affects the vote. Here, we examine the role of nonverbal aspects of candidate presentation on image making and voters' preferences. In a series of three related studies conducted at the time of the 1984 national election, the impact of different photographs of the same candidate is assessed. The results suggest that a candidate's image can be shaped in such a way as to manipulate voters' preferences. Can public relations experts manipulate the public's impression of political candidates? Can these "image brokers" exert an impact on electoral outcomes? These questions have been raised with increasing frequency by both journalists and political scientists. At stake is the belief in a responsible electorate-an electorate which is able to see the candidates for who they are and vote accordingly. Although image manipulation is a matter of growing concern, little systematic research has been conducted. Here, we provide a step in the empirical examination of this issue. In particular, we are interested in exploring whether or not it is possible to manipulate an individual's appearance in a way that affects both voters' judgments of the candidate and the choices they make at the ballot box. Our hypothesis is that image manipulation is possible and can have an impact on voters' preferences. Our reasoning is as follows. First, candidates themselves have an important impact on the vote. Apart SHAWN W. ROSENBERG is Assistant Professor of Social Psychology and Political Science in the School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine. PATRICK MCCAFFERTY is a graduate student in Political Science in the School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine. Public Opinion Quarterly Volume 51:31-47 ? by the American Association for Public Opinion Research Published by The University of Chicago Press / 0033-362X/87/0051-01/$2.50 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.62 on Mon, 10 Jul 2017 17:40:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 32 Shawn W. Rosenberg with Patrick McCafferty from their political party affiliations and issue positions, the candidates' personal qualities importantly influence voters' choices. Second, the political reality of a candidate's personal qualities is a matter of the image that candidate projects. While subject to a number of influences, this image is importantly shaped by the nonverbal aspects of a candidate's presentation to the public. Appearance and style help determine what kind of person the voters perceive the candidate to be. Third, the image a candidate projects may be shaped. Although party affiliation and ideology are relatively inflexible attributes, appearance and style are not. Given proper instruction, a candidate can be trained to look and act in a way that projects the kind of personal image that is attractive. In this mainer, citizens' perceptions of the candidate's personal qualities may be purposively manipulated and their vote affected. Hereafter, we will consider each step of the argument in