A study was conducted to provide a comparative analysis of the 1984 presidential primary and general election debates, specifically in terms of the formats imposed upon them and the emergent candidate verbal behaviors. Ten Democratic nationally televised primary debates and three bipartisan nationally televised General Election debates were…

Examines voters' evaluative structures used in making decisions about political candidates, specifically regarding election level and candidates' incumbent-challenger status. Concludes that incumbent positioning affects perceptual criteria formation for candidates. Reports that voting behavior predictions can be made when candidate idiosyncracies…

Undertaken in conjunction with the 1976 presidential election, this study examined perceptions of Gerald R. Ford against conceptualizations of the ideal political candidate. Questionnaires were administered to 321 undergraduates (both Republicans and Democrats) in order to measure perceived credibility and homophily of the ideal candidate and of…

A study examined the evaluative structures employed by voters in making decisions about political contenders, specifically as a function of the level of the election involved and the incumbent-challenger status of the candidates. Data were obtained by questionnaires administered within two weeks prior to the 1984 general election to 550…

An important influence on a presidential candidate's debating style, the "incumbency factor," has been largely ignored by researchers. An analysis of the argumentative style of incumbents, based on the 1976 and 1980 presidential debates, has isolated three distinguishing characteristics: (1) presidential incumbents tend to avoid extended…

A study utilizing source credibility and homophily as a basis for analysis was designed to examine the conceptualization of the ideal political candidate. In addition, this conceptualization was examined across selected voter characteristics to determine if it varied on that basis. Questionnaires were administered to 390 college students to…

This paper provides an overview of the development of sponsors for primary and general election debates at the presidential level and considers the various sponsorship alternatives for future debates. From a historical perspective, the paper discusses the major role that the broadcasting industry played in the early presidential debates and…

A study was designed to investigate the consequences of various coding strategies on the semantic differential as a function of responses to an ideal source in the prediction of overall credibility and homophily. The study was also intended to provide additional evidence for the disconfirmation of the underlying extremity assumption of the…

To examine political debate formats with regard to past usage and future possibilities, an analysis was made of the format features of the 1960, 1976, and 1980 general election presidential debates. Also analyzed were the formats used in the primary debates for Democratic presidential candidates in 1976 and for the Republican presidential…