The Politics of Emotion: News Media Attention, Emotional Responses, and Participation During the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election

Abstract This study examines the mediating role of emotions toward presidential candidates in the relationship between news media attention and political campaign participation. Numerous studies have investigated the effect of news media attention on political participatory behavior. Research in this area, however, focused mostly on cognitive variables as influences on people's behavior. We hypothesize that emotional reactions to candidates can mediate the effect of news media attention on political campaign participation. Using the 2004 American National Election Studies, we test this hypothesis employing structural equation modeling. Results show that both news media attention and the amount of emotions toward candidates are positively associated with political campaign participation. The relationship between TV news attention and political participation is fully mediated by the emotions toward both candidates, whereas the relationship between newspaper attention and political participation is partially mediated. In other words, TV news only has an indirect effect on political participation through emotional reactions toward candidates. Notes 1A regression imputation based on respondents' employment status and home ownership was used to replace 142 missing cases in the household income variable. Note. N = 1,023. Coefficients are standardized Gamma coefficients (γ = for the effects of exogenous variables) and Beta coefficients (β = for the effects of endogenous variables). *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. Additional informationNotes on contributorsKang Namkoong Kang Namkoong (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include community-based health and political communication campaigns. Timothy K. F. Fung Timothy K. F. Fung (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interests include risk communication and political communication. Dietram A. Scheufele Dietram A. Scheufele (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999) holds the John E. Ross Chair in Science Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is Co-PI of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University. His research deals with public opinion on emerging technologies and the political effects of mass communication.