Suchergebnisse

A test of the effects of the 1980 Jimmy Carter-Ronald Reagan US presidential debate on public opinion & voting behavior, challenging the conventional wisdom that the only important effect of debates is reinforcement of prior preference. Using the 1980 US National Election Study, voters are divided into two groups -- consistent & inconsistent -- based on whether or not they saw their preferred candidate as the debate winner. Among inconsistent voters (those who did not name their predebate favorite as winner), significant erosion was found in candidate support & many vote intentions were changed. This effect was especially strong voters with relatively low levels of political information, & generally worked to the benefit of Reagan, the eventual election winner. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 19 References. AA

AbstractStudents of political debating in both Canada and the United States have generally concluded that national debates do little more than reinforce viewers' prior preferences. This article considers the Canadian leadership debates of 1984, and asks two major questions. First, would the presence of relatively unknown party leaders make these debates more influential than expected? Second, would the French-language debate have special effects on francophone Canadians? The author finds that the debates, unlike their 1979 counterpart, had a significant effect on voting behaviour. Moreover, that effect was especially strong among people for whom French was the first language, and worked in favour of the candidate most fluent in that language. The author concludes by considering the importance of these findings.

STUDENTS OF POLITICAL DEBATING IN BOTH CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES HAVE GENERALLY CONCLUDED THAT NATIONAL DEBATES DO LITTLE MORE THAN REINFORCE VIEWERS' PRIOR PREFERENCES. THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS THE CANADIAN LEADERSHIP DEBATES OF 1984, AND ASKS TWO MAJOR QUESTIONS. FIRST, WOULD THE PRESENCE OF RELATIVELY UNKNOWN PARTY LEADERS MAKE THESE DEBATES MORE INFLUENTIAL THAN EXPECTED? SECOND, WOULD THE FRENCH-LANGUAGE DEBATE HAVE SPECIAL EFFECTS ON FRENCH CANADIANS? THE ARTICLE CONCLUDES BY CONSIDERING THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE FINDINGS.