This study examined in an experimental setting the influence of comparative message strategies in political attack advertising messages on voter perceptions of the attacker and of the targeted candidate. Relying on theories of social cognition (Fiske & Taylor, 1991), the study posited that, among voters unfamiliar with either candidate, ambiguous and image-based attack messages would facilitate greater negative attitude shifts toward both candidates than other attack message strategies. Attacks were found to lower perceptions of both targeted and attacking candidates regardless of message strategy. Image-based attacks lowered perceptions of targeted candidates significantly more than issue-based attacks but did not influence perceptions of attackers significantly. Level of ambiguity did not appear to influence voter perception of targeted or attacking candidates.

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From the television advertisements made by presidential candidates from 1952 to 1976, this study analyzed the 131 advertisements that contained women. The analysis used the following descriptors: Number of Women's Roles, Age, Occupation, Marital Status, Locale, Concerns, and Status Relative to the Candidate. The results indicate that women are most likely to be shown as physically present although not speaking, in the 18 to 30 age group, belonging to a non-business atmosphere yet outside the home, and of an unknown marital status, and will not be shown in the same frame as the candidate. Womens' images in these advertisements were most commonly associated with issues involving the cost of living, taxes, pro-Nixon, and social security.

The purpose of this research was to determine the aural and visual issues present in televised political campaign advertising of the 1972 Presidential election year. Content analysis was the method employed to determine these issues. The campaign commercials of George McGovern and Richard Nixon were the subject of the analysis. The issues coded were Social Welfare, Natural Resources, Labor, Management, Civil Rights, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Vietnam, Government, Public Order, Defense, Republicans, and Democrats. The results show that the campaigns used issues appearing in network news coverage, the percentage of time each campaign spent on the issues, and that the aural content was supported by the visual images in the commercials.