ISU study: Competence matters more than gender for women running for office
LIFT IOWA STAFF Nov 7, 2016 | 2:06 pm
1 min read time
287 wordsAll Latest News, Lift IOWA, Women’s and Gender IssuesThe nomination of the first female presidential candidate by a major party has shattered some gender barriers, while at the same time reinforcing certain stereotypes and double standards that still exist for women, according to a new study conducted by an Iowa State University political scientist.
Tessa Ditonto, an assistant professor of political science at ISU, studies how gender and political psychology influence voter behavior. Ditonto’s new research, which examines gender and candidate competence — based on information and looks — provides some insight as to how gender influences voter behavior.
The results, published in the journal Political Behavior, are encouraging and somewhat troubling, Ditonto said in a news release. She found that gender plays a significant role in how much voters care about a candidate’s perceived competence. The full study is available online.
Female candidates portrayed as competent in the study did just as well as men who were viewed as competent. However, voters had different standards when judging incompetence. Ditonto’s research showed they were more forgiving of men than women who appeared incompetent.
To test voter behavior, Ditonto created a mock election scenario. She also conducted a second study using a computer program to determine how voters respond to facial features. Despite prior research that shows voters judge a candidate in other ways, including looks, Ditonto’s work found the opposite to be true. A candidate’s facial features didn’t matter as much when gender and substantive information were taken into consideration.
In the end, voters did their homework based on the information provided. However, if the information portrayed a woman as incompetent, they were less likely to support her campaign, even if that meant voting for the other party’s candidate.
Read the full release about Ditonto’s study online.
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