Candidate Image Attributes: Experiments on the Substantive Dimension of Second Level Agenda Setting

This study examined the role of attribute salience in the agenda setting process. Two experiments were conducted to investigate how media emphasis on certain political candidate attributes would influence public perceptions of those politicians. Specifically, media portrayals of candidate personality and qualification traits were explored. Findings suggest that people's impressions of candidate personality traits mirror media portrayals of those traits. However, media portrayals of personality traits do not affect a candidate's overall salience. The data also indicate that candidate qualifications do influence affective perceptions of politicians. Finally, the authors consider the ramifications of these results on future scholarship.