Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Kline, Reuben | Norpoth, Helmut | Lebo, Matthew | Garretson, Jeremiah | Hayes, Danny.
Date
2015-12-01
Keywords
Political science
Department
Department of Political Science.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76765
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
Honesty has long been a trait voters seek in candidates for political office, yet the past few decades of American politics are strewn with examples of blatant dishonesty by political figures, sometimes with seemingly few electoral consequences. This dissertation examines how perceptions of candidate honesty are formed, as well as potential consequences of dishonest behavior for candidates as well as parties. The first empirical chapter uses ANES data to look at how media usage by citizens can shape perceived honesty. The second empirical chapter uses ARFIMA-MLM framework to look at usage while adding content in the form of news media and advertising data from the Wisconsin Ad Project. In the final empirical chapter, an experiment examines how news media corrections can influence perceived candidate honesty, as well as how source cues can interact with partisanship to further shape these perceptions. Overall, this dissertation paints a picture of a landscape where media is influential in shaping perceived candidate honesty, but partisanship of candidate and voter may interact with these media cues, such that citizens may reach different conclusions about the honesty of politicians based on their own beliefs and the programming to which they are exposed. | 154 pages
Recommended Citation
Harris, Matthew, "“Post-Truth†Politics? Media Causes and Potential Effects of Perceptions of Candidate Honesty" (2015). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2643.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2643