The (In)stability of Voters' Perceptions of Competence and Associative Issue Ownership: The Role of Media Campaign Coverage

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_9789F79D42A7
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The (In)stability of Voters' Perceptions of Competence and Associative Issue Ownership: The Role of Media Campaign Coverage
Journal
Political Communication
Author(s)
Tresch Anke, Feddersen Alexandra
ISSN
1058-4609
1091-7675
Publication state
Published
Issued date
30/11/2018
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
36
Number
3
Pages
394-411
Language
english
Abstract
Recent work has suggested that issue ownership has a competence and an associative dimension and that both dimensions are less stable than originally assumed. This study is the first attempt to directly compare the stability and change of voters’ perceptions on both dimensions. Using data from the 2015 Swiss Election Study, linking data from a combined panel/rolling cross-section survey with an extensive media analysis, this study finds that voters are more likely to maintain their issue ownership perceptions if the party they identify as the issue owner before the campaign receives a higher share of media campaign coverage. This stabilizing effect is conditional on the importance of the issue for the voter, and it is stronger for voters’ competence evaluations than for their party-issue associations, which proved to be more stable. Thus, the results confirm the literature’s previously untested assumption that voters’ associative ownership perceptions are more stable than their competence ownership evaluations.
Keywords
issue ownership, media coverage, election campaign, panel survey, Switzerland
Create date
30/11/2018 17:26
Last modification date
21/08/2019 7:09
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