Annual Review of Political Science · 2009 · 213 citations · 33 references
Public AffairsPolitical CommunicationPolitical SciencePolitical AdvertisingPolitical BehaviorPolitical Communication Research MethodsCampaign CommunicationNegative AdvertisingNegative CampaigningEffectiveness Of Negative AdvertisingMass Media EffectsNegative Campaign AdvertisingNegative Campaign MessagingNegative Political MessagesPolitical Ad EffectsPolitical Advertising AnalysisPopular Belief
Over the past two decades, research on negative political advertising has surged, coinciding with increasing criticism of its use. This article reviews the literature on negative campaigning to determine which candidates attack opponents, under what circumstances, and the effects of such attacks. The authors synthesize existing studies on negative campaigning, analyze patterns of attacks and contexts, and discuss methodological challenges and best‑practice recommendations for media research. The review finds little evidence that attacking an opponent is an effective campaign technique or that it harms democracy, contradicting popular belief.
The past two decades have seen an explosion of social science research on negative political advertising as the number of political observers complaining about its use—if not negative campaigning itself—has also grown dramatically. This article reviews the literature on negative campaigning—what candidates are most likely to attack their opponent, under what circumstances, and most importantly, to what effect. We also discuss the many serious methodological issues that make studying media effects of any kind so difficult, and make suggestions for “best practices” in conducting media research. Contrary to popular belief, there is little scientific evidence that attacking one's opponent is a particularly effective campaign technique, or that it has deleterious effects on our system of government. We conclude with a discussion of whether negative political advertising is bad for democracy.
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