GOING NEGATIVE: How Political Ads Shrink and Polarize the Electorate
As they enter an election year, most voters are bracing themselves for yet another round of harsh, negative campaign ads. And although the average citizen decries the use of such ads, political consultants consistently employ them. In this book by two political scientists, we learn why and how negative ads are effective. Using four years of controlled experiments in which real voters viewed professionally designed campaign commercials?both positive and negative?the authors detected a number of important results. Campaign advertising, they conclude, is persuasive but not manipulative; voters do learn from ads, regardless of their length, because they simplify the task of voting. Exposure to advertising also reinforces potential partisan sentiments. The most disturbing findings, however, are that negative ads suppress voter turnout by discouraging nonpartisan or independent voters and that such ads increase voters' cynicism about elections and their own ability to affect the political system. Despite the sophisticated methodology, the authors' writing is accessible to the informed reader. Their book is essential for any serious student of American elections and is likely to be the focus of much discussion during the coming election.?Thomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.