Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Negative Political Advertisements: A Meta-Analytic Assessment, Richard Lau, Lee Sigelman, Caroline Heldman, Paul Babbitt

Caroline Heldman

The conventional wisdom about negative political advertisements holds that no one likes them, but they work, that is, they have the consequences their sponsors intend. Moreover, many analysts have expressed concern over the detrimental effects of such negativism on the American political system. We examine the accuracy of the conventional wisdom and the legitimacy of the fears about the consequences for the political system via meta-analysis, a systematic, quantitative review of the literature. The data do not support either contention. Negative political ads appear to be no more effective than positive ads and do not seem to have especially detrimental …