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The Moral Presentation of Self: Causes and Consequences of Perceptions of Politicians' Character Traits Scott Clifford

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The Moral Presentation of Self: Causes and Consequences of Perceptions of Politicians' Character Traits Scott Clifford Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 The Moral Presentation of Self: Causes and Consequences of Perceptions of Politicians' Character Traits Scott Clifford Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PUBLIC POLICY THE MORAL PRESENTATION OF SELF: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF PERCEPTIONS OF POLITICIANS’ CHARACTER TRAITS By SCOTT CLIFFORD A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2013 Scott Clifford defended this dissertation on March 27, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jennifer Jerit Professor Directing Dissertation Art Raney University Representative Jason Barabas Committee Member Brad Gomez Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii This dissertation is dedicated to Kirsti for her unwavering care and support. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to Jennifer Jerit for all of her help and support. It is difficult to imagine an advisor that has devoted more time and energy to her graduate students. She has been endlessly supportive and I would not have come this far without her help. I would also like to thank Jason Barabas and Brad Gomez for all of their help and encouragement throughout the program. Finally, I would like to thank everyone in the FSU Department of Political Science, who created a fun and supportive environment and made a huge contribution to my professional development. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Why Trait Perceptions Matter ........................................................................................1 1.2 Sources of Trait Perceptions ..........................................................................................2 1.3 A Theoretical Foundation for Trait Research ................................................................4 1.4 Summary ........................................................................................................................6 LINKING ISSUE STANCES AND TRAIT INFERENCES: A THEORY OF MORAL EXEMPLIFICATION......................................................................................................................9 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................9 2.2 Existing Theories of Trait Perceptions ........................................................................10 2.3 A Theory of Moral Exemplification ............................................................................11 2.4 Study 1: Trait Accessibility .........................................................................................15 2.5 Study 2: The Death Penalty .........................................................................................18 2.5.1 Results ..............................................................................................................21 2.6 Study 3: Enhanced Interrogation .................................................................................23 2.6.1 Results ..............................................................................................................24 2.7 Discussion ....................................................................................................................26 2.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................27 MANIPULATION TRAIT PERCEPTIONS WITH MORAL JUSTIFICATIONS .....................30 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................30 3.2 Connecting Justifications and Trait Inferences ............................................................31 3.3 Study 1: Environmental Attitudes ................................................................................34 3.3.1 Results ..............................................................................................................35 3.3.2 Discussion ........................................................................................................39 3.4 Study 2: The Auto Bailout ...........................................................................................39 3.4.1 Results ..............................................................................................................41 3.5 Do Party Labels Facilitate Trait Inferences? ...............................................................45 3.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................47 CONFIRMING THE WORST: CANDIDATE RUMORS AND CHARACTER TRAIT PERCEPTIONS .............................................................................................................................50 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................50 4.2 Trait Perceptions and Rumor Acceptance ....................................................................51 4.3 Study 1: Manipulating a Candidate’s Character Traits ................................................54 4.3.1 Results ..............................................................................................................55 4.4 Study 2: Observational Evidence from the 2012 Presidential Campaign ....................57 4.5 Study 3: Determinants of Belief in an Obama Rumor .................................................62 4.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................67 APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................69 v A. CHAPTER 2 AUXILIARY ANALYSES AND MODEL DETAILS ..................................69 B. CHAPTER 2 EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND MODEL DETAILS ........................74 C. CHAPTER 4 EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS ..................................................................78 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................79 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................................88 vi LIST OF TABLES 1 Open-Ended Trait Responses as a Function of Subjects’ Moral Foundations ...................18 2 Effect of Trait Perceptions on Rumor Believability ..........................................................57 3 Analysis of Belief in Obama Muslim Rumor ....................................................................66 A1 The Effect of Brownback’s Stance on Trait Perceptions ...................................................68 A2 The Effect of Inhofe’s Stance on Trait Perceptions ...........................................................70 A3 The Effects of Moral Foundations on Death Penalty Opposition ......................................71 A4 Study 2 Treatment Effects by Sample ...............................................................................72 A5 Effects of Care and Sanctity Justifications on Trait Perceptions .......................................76 A6 Effects of Care and Loyalty Justifications on Trait Perceptions........................................77 vii LIST OF FIGURES 1 Treatment Effects by Death Penalty Attitudes...................................................................22 2 Treatment Effects by Enhanced Interrogation Attitudes ...................................................26 3 Effects of Moral Justifications on Trait Perceptions..........................................................37 4 Effects of Moral Justifications on Candidate Liberalism ..................................................38 5 Effects of Moral Justifications on Character Trait Perceptions .........................................42 6 Effects of Moral Justifications on Candidate Liberalism ..................................................44 7 Effect of Candidate Partisanship on Character Trait Perceptions ......................................47 8 Trait Implications of Candidate Rumors............................................................................61 A1 Study 2 Treatment Effects by Sample ...............................................................................73 viii ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I examine the causes and consequences of perceptions of politicians’ character traits. I argue that character traits are best understood as reflections of particular moral foundations. Just as people vary in the moral foundations they endorse,
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