Attribute agenda setting and affective priming in a South Korean election: how media descriptions of candidate attributes affect political decision-making

Abstract

The present study uses data from the 2011 Seoul mayoral election to study attribute agenda setting and affective priming. By combining a content analysis of the candidate coverage in seven major news outlets and an exit poll of voters (N = 690) on Election Day, it investigates the relationships between the cognitive and affective components of candidate attributes most highlighted by the news media and most accessible in voters’ memories, feelings toward political candidates, and vote choices among actual voters who had just cast their ballots. It also explores how these relationships differ depending on individuals’ news media exposure. The study found that mediated election campaigns influence public opinion and behavior through both cognitive and affective priming. That is, campaign news can semantically prime certain aspects of candidate images while eliciting affective reactions to those aspects through its evaluative tones. In this process, political candidate traits mediated by the news media can meaningfully influence voters’ political judgments.