Candidate Authenticity: 'To Thine Own Self Be True'.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Candidate Authenticity: 'To Thine Own Self Be True'.
Authors:	Stiers, Dieter (AUTHOR), Larner, Jac (AUTHOR), Kenny, John (AUTHOR), Breitenstein, Sofia (AUTHOR), Vallée-Dubois, Florence (AUTHOR), Lewis-Beck, Michael (AUTHOR)
Source:	Political Behavior. Sep2021, Vol. 43 Issue 3, p1181-1204. 24p. 5 Charts, 3 Graphs.
Subjects:	Political candidates, Politicians, Political parties, Elections, Voting, Empirical research
Abstract:	In recent electoral contests, political observers and media outlets increasingly report on the level of "authenticity" of political candidates. However, even though this term has become commonplace in political commentary, it has received little attention in empirical electoral research. In this study, we identify the characteristics that we argue make a politician "authentic". After theoretically discussing the different dimensions of this trait, we propose a survey battery aimed at measuring perceptions of the authenticity of political candidates. Testing our measure using data sets from different countries, we show that the answers to our items load on one latent concept that we call "authenticity". Furthermore, perceptions of candidate authenticity correlate strongly with evaluations of political parties and leaders, and with vote intention, while they are empirically distinguishable from other traits. We conclude that candidate authenticity is an important trait that should be taken into account by future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Political Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Description
Abstract:	In recent electoral contests, political observers and media outlets increasingly report on the level of "authenticity" of political candidates. However, even though this term has become commonplace in political commentary, it has received little attention in empirical electoral research. In this study, we identify the characteristics that we argue make a politician "authentic". After theoretically discussing the different dimensions of this trait, we propose a survey battery aimed at measuring perceptions of the authenticity of political candidates. Testing our measure using data sets from different countries, we show that the answers to our items load on one latent concept that we call "authenticity". Furthermore, perceptions of candidate authenticity correlate strongly with evaluations of political parties and leaders, and with vote intention, while they are empirically distinguishable from other traits. We conclude that candidate authenticity is an important trait that should be taken into account by future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	01909320
DOI:	10.1007/s11109-019-09589-y