Attitudes toward Women and Men in Politics: Perceived Male and Female Candidate Competencies and Participant Personality Characteristics

Abstract

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Gender-Based Strategies on Candidate Websites

“…I have summarized current research from a variety of sources (Sapiro 1981;Rosenwasser et al 1987;Rosenwasser and Seale 1988;Rosenwasser and Dean 1989;Leeper 1991;Alexander and Andersen 1993;Huddy and Terkildsen 1993a;Matland 1994;Lawless 2004;Dolan 2005; Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 2008a).…”

Is There a Gender Gap in the Value of Campaign Resources?

“…Female candidates and Democrats share similar stereotypes. Both are thought to be more liberal and strong on compassion issues (for research on women, see Sapiro 1981;Burrell 1985;Rosenwasser et al 1987;Boles 1989;Leeper 1991;Alexander and Andersen 1993;Huddy and Terkildsen 1993; for research on party stereotypes, see Gallup 1990, 144-5;Rahn 1993, 477-81). During elections when these issues are important to voters, Democratic women are likely to have an edge because voters-with little information-are likely to feel confident that these candidates will provide the representation they want.…”

“…Women with political experience not only receive the benefits men derive from experience but also may be better able to counter the stereotype that female candidates are not electable. Americans view female candidates as less electable than male candidates (Sapiro 1981;Rosenwasser et al 1987;Leeper 1991). Sapiro (1981), for example, found that when subjects in an experiment were presented a campaign speech with ambiguous issue content attributed to a female candidate, subjects felt the candidate was not electable, but subjects who were told the candidate was male believed the candidate was electable.…”

“…Theories on the effects of stereotypes on candidate perceptions imply that gender affects the value of resources for candidates. Candidates' gender provides voters a cue as to candidates' issue positions and electability, particularly in the absence of clear information (Huddy and Terkildsen 1993;Alexander and Andersen 1993;Sapiro 1981-82;Rosenwasser et al 1987;Leeper 1991). Thus any resource that affects voters' use of gender stereotypes should affect female candidates differently than male candidates.…”

Gender stereotypes as a double-edged sword in political advertising

“…whether gender stereotypes can be an asset or a liability. For example, voters would expect candidates to carry gender-congruent traits or issues (Rosenwasser et al 1987;Rosenwasser & Dean 1989;Carpini & Fuchs 1993;Huddy & Terkildsen 1993a, 1993bMatland 1994;Herrnson et al 2003;Banwart & McKinney 2005). On the other hand, some researchers suggest that gendered information in the campaigns may not catch voters' attention and lead to little persuasion (Huddy & Terkildsen 1993a, 1993bHitchon et al 1997;Fox & Smith 1998;Bystrom & Kaid 2002;Bystrom et al 2004).…”