Suchergebnisse

AbstractObjectification and dehumanization are topics often discussed within the social psychology and feminist theory literature. Research on objectification has largely focused on the sexual objectification of women's bodies, whereas the dehumanization literature has focused on dehumanization in the context of racial and ethnic groups. Extant political science research has only recently begun to engage with these concepts. In this manuscript, we build upon these literatures and apply these insights to questions relevant to politics. In particular, we argue that objectifying and dehumanizing portrayals of women impact how voters evaluate women politicians and how much they support gender parity in politics. Through a proposed experimental design, we test our hypothesis that the objectification of women as a group can decrease positive evaluations and likelihood of electoral support for women political candidates.

This case discusses the process and benefits of ethnographic research of candidate recruitment by local political parties. Ethnography is especially useful in this research area, as candidate recruitment is a closed, "inside" process that incorporates several veto-holding stakeholders and a range of considerations that are challenging to disentangle using other methods. Participant-observer data are richer and more substantively significant, especially in this case, as the ethnographer was the subject of candidate recruitment by both major political parties (Republicans and Democrats) in the same 12-month period. This unusual "co-partisan" recruitment effort, paired with a bottom-up methodological view provided by the participant-generated data made for a unique research opportunity. The resulting data make robust comparison and contrast possible, even given limits in record keeping and the limited generalizability inherent to ethnographic analysis. The case also highlights the challenges of confirming the findings in question, but recommendations for future research provide some options to explore.

Studies show that automatic trait inferences can predict outcomes of actual elections, but these studies generally include male candidates only. Substantial evidence also shows that female candidates are subject to gender-based stereotypes, which can lead to differences in how men and women candidates are evaluated. This article combines these two literatures to compare the effects of competence, threat, and attractiveness inferences in elections that include women. We use experimental data in which candidate pairs from state and local US elections were judged on these three traits and examine whether those ratings are predictive of election outcomes. We find that although competence matters most for elections involving only men, attractiveness predicts winners in women-only elections. In mixed-gender races, competence inferences predict success when the female candidate is perceived as more competent than the male candidate. Finally, unlike men, women benefit from being perceived as physically threatening in mixed-gender races.

Study overview -- The selection process puzzle and ideal candidate types -- Data and initial supply and demand tests -- Centralisation and the Labour Party's candidate selection process -- Assessing centralisation in the British Labour Party's selection process -- Assessing early stage selector preference for "Ideal" candidates -- Do local party members select "Ideal" candidates? -- Conclusion.

This study analyzed women political candidates' security status and their participation in political leadership in Kenya. Specific objectives included to establish the level of security for women political candidates, perpetrators of political insecurity, motive for political threats, and the survival tactics used by women political candidates. The study was anchored on conflict theory, standpoint theory, and feminism theory. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted where the target population comprised 125 Members of County Assembly (MCAs) in Nairobi City County. Census was used to involve all of them in the study and a structured questionnaire applied for data collection. The findings established that security for women political candidates in Kenya was a serious issue, with more than 55% of the respondents having witnessed gender-based political violence against women political candidates. Perpetrators of the threats included close family members and political opponents. Common threats included bodily harm, sexual harassment, and embarrassments. Motives for political insecurity included jealousy by detractors/opponents, given the competitive nature of politics. The study concluded that women political candidates in Kenya stand higher security risks than their men counterparts. The study recommended the need for the IEBC to effectively protect all political candidates during campaigns regardless of gender.

"Person-centeredness" refers to how empathetic and warm a person's communication style is. Although the role of person-centeredness has been documented in various areas concerning interpersonal relations, person-centeredness has not been explored in the political realm. This project investigated how person-centered communications can influence impressions and evaluations of political candidates. In the first study, person-centered (PC) messages were shown to impact candidate trait ratings. Candidates using low PC messages were associated with more instrumental traits but fewer socio-emotional traits, while high PC candidates were assumed to have more socio-emotional traits but fewer instrumental traits. Similar results were found when participants rated a candidate's ability to handle socio-emotional and instrumental issues. With regard to global attitudes and voting likelihood, high PC candidates were preferred over low, however this PC effect was moderated by the candidate's gender, with female candidates showing a stronger PC effect than males. Study 2 investigated whether the PC effects shown in Study 1 would weaken or reverse in certain situations, specifically under conditions of threat where high PC candidates may be less desirable compared to low. Study 2 also explored whether individual differences within participants, namely political conservatism and authoritarianism, would moderate the PC effect. Overall results are discussed in terms of the benefits and costs of using PC messages and gender differences within politics.

AbstractAre female politicians disadvantaged by adverse economic conditions in ways their male counterparts are not? To examine this issue, we had participants read a news article about the current economic situation. The article emphasized either economic stability or volatility. Afterward, they evaluated an advertisement for either a female or a male candidate for the U.S. Senate. Exposure to news depicting economic instability caused devaluation of the female but not the male candidate. A second study provided a direct replication of this finding with a larger sample. An omnibus analysis (N = 535) showed that this devaluation pattern occurred primarily among male participants. Study 2 also examined whether gender stereotypes play a role in this process. Indeed, men's confidence in the female candidate's ability to handle stereotypically masculine issues decreased under economic instability and this tendency mediated their devaluation of the female candidate.