Demagoguery and political rhetoric: A review of the literature<sup>1</sup>

Gustainis, J. Justin

doi:10.1080/02773949009390878

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…For thoroughness, we additionally measured other aspects of the statements. We derived these aspects from Gustainis' (1990) seven rhetorical techniques habitually used by demagogues: how offensive, simplistic, logical, emotional, scripted, passionate, and important the statements seemed. Although political language might naturally vary on some of these aspects, we expected how strategic it seems would particularly influence beliefs about the communicator's authenticity.…”

Section: Experiments 5: Conservative and Liberal Communicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

Rosenblum¹,

Schroeder²,

Gino³

2020

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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When a person's language appears to be political-such as being politically correct or incorrect-it can influence fundamental impressions of him or her. Political correctness is "using language or behavior to seem sensitive to others' feelings, especially those others who seem socially disadvantaged." One pilot study, 6 experiments, and 3 supplemental experiments (N ϭ 4,956) demonstrate that being politically incorrect makes communicators appear more authentic-specifically, less susceptible to external influence-albeit also less warm. These effects, however, are moderated by perceivers' political ideology and how sympathetic perceivers feel toward the target group being labeled politically correctly. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3 using politically incorrect language (e.g., calling undocumented immigrants illegals) made a communicator appear particularly authentic among conservative perceivers but particularly cold among liberal perceivers. However, in Experiment 4 these effects reversed when conservatives felt sympathetic toward the group that was being labeled politically correctly or incorrectly (e.g., calling poor Whites white trash). Experiment 5 tests why political incorrectness can boost authenticity, demonstrating that it makes communicators seem less strategic. Finally, Experiment 6 examines the use of political language in a meaningful field context: perceived persuasion in real political debates. Debaters instructed to be politically correct (vs. politically incorrect) were judged by their uninstructed conversation partners to be easier to persuade during the conversation, although they actually reported being similarly persuaded. Together, these findings demonstrate when and how using politically incorrect language can enhance a person's authenticity.

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Section: Experiments 5: Conservative and Liberal Communicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

Rosenblum¹,

Schroeder²,

Gino³

2020

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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“…This gap between publicly-endorsed norms and private beliefs is the basis for our definition of demagoguery (see, e.g., Gustainis 1990; Mercieca 2015)—that is, an appeal to counter-normative beliefs (generally discussed as “prejudices”) that are otherwise suppressed. The demagogue distinguishes himself in his willingness to bear the social consequences of publicly saying that the emperor is naked.…”

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Authentic Appeal of the Lying Demagogue: Proclaiming the Deeper Truth about Political Illegitimacy

Kim²,

2018

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We develop and test a theory to address a puzzling pattern that has been discussed widely since the 2016 U.S. presidential election and reproduced here in a post-election survey: how can a constituency of voters find a candidate “authentically appealing” (i.e., view him positively as authentic) even though he is a “lying demagogue” (someone who deliberately tells lies and appeals to non-normative private prejudices)? Key to the theory are two points: (1) “common-knowledge” lies may be understood as flagrant violations of the norm of truth-telling; and (2) when a political system is suffering from a “crisis of legitimacy” (Lipset 1959) with respect to at least one political constituency, members of that constituency will be motivated to see a flagrant violator of established norms as an authentic champion of its interests. Two online vignette experiments on a simulated college election support our theory. These results demonstrate that mere partisanship is insufficient to explain sharp differences in how lying demagoguery is perceived, and that several oft-discussed factors—information access, culture, language, and gender—are not necessary for explaining such differences. Rather, for the lying demagogue to have authentic appeal, it is sufficient that one side of a social divide regards the political system as flawed or illegitimate.

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“…As Roberts‐Miller (2005) defined it, “demagoguery is polarizing propaganda that motivates members of an in‐group to hate and scapegoat some out‐group(s)” (474). According to Gustainis (1990), it entails any of the following rhetorical techniques: “reliance on personalized appeal, oversimplification, emphasis on emotional appeals, use of specious argument, ‘ad hominem’ attacks, anti‐intellectualism, and political pageantry” (158). As the work by Lawler McDonough (2018) has shown, Trump embraced the rhetoric of demagoguery during the 2016 presidential debates, routinely engaging in “scapegoating, polarization, and exaggeration, often at the expense of evidence and support” (152).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exceptional “We” or Exceptional “Me”? Donald Trump, American Exceptionalism, and the Remaking of the Modern Jeremiad

Gilmore

Rowling²,

Edwards

et al. 2020

Pres Stud Q

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This article examines how Donald Trump remade the modern jeremiad during his 2016 presidential campaign. We argue that Trump differed from recent oppositional candidates for the presidency in his invocation of American exceptionalism. Our findings show that unlike his predecessors: (1) Trump's use of the jeremiad was constrained by his limited conception of American exceptionalism; (2) Trump routinely portrayed the country as no longer exceptional; and (3) Trump offered a vision for restoring American exceptionalism, focusing primarily on "self-exceptionalism." We discuss how these findings contribute to our understanding of the modern jeremiad and examine how these dynamics may play out during Trump's reelection campaign. On July 17, 2016, the Republican National Committee (RNC) released the party's official campaign platform for the 2016 election. The document was unequivocal in establishing that the philosophical foundation of the Republican Party was centered on a single idea-American exceptionalism. Notably, the preamble of the platform began with this stand-alone statement: "We believe in American exceptionalism [full stop]" (RNC 2016, i). It then emphasized: "We believe that American exceptionalism-the notion that our ideas and principles as a nation give us a unique place of moral leadership in the worldrequires the United States to retake its natural position as leader of the free world" (41). Finally, it declared that the Republican Party "embraces American exceptionalism and

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Demagoguery and political rhetoric: A review of the literature¹

Cited by 24 publications

References 12 publications

Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

The Authentic Appeal of the Lying Demagogue: Proclaiming the Deeper Truth about Political Illegitimacy

Exceptional “We” or Exceptional “Me”? Donald Trump, American Exceptionalism, and the Remaking of the Modern Jeremiad

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Demagoguery and political rhetoric: A review of the literature1

Cited by 24 publications

References 12 publications

Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

The Authentic Appeal of the Lying Demagogue: Proclaiming the Deeper Truth about Political Illegitimacy

Exceptional “We” or Exceptional “Me”? Donald Trump, American Exceptionalism, and the Remaking of the Modern Jeremiad

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Demagoguery and political rhetoric: A review of the literature¹