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Is Personality Key? Persuasive Effects of Prior Attitudes and Personality in Political Microtargeting

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  • Hannah Decker

    (Department of Social Psychology: Media and Communication, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)

  • Nicole Krämer

    (Department of Social Psychology: Media and Communication, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany / Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security, Dortmund, Germany)

Abstract

Messages that are designed to match a recipient’s personality, as enabled by microtargeting, have been found to influence political reasoning and even voting intentions. We extended these findings by adding prior attitudes to a microtargeting setting. Specifically, we examined what role different microtargeting approaches play in political reasoning by conducting an online experiment with a 2 (extraverted vs. introverted communication) × 2 (attitude-congruent vs. attitude-incongruent statement) between-subject design (N = 368). In line with the assumptions of the theory of motivated reasoning, attitude position matching emerged as an effective microtargeting strategy, and attitude strength moderated the effect of attitude congruency on recipients’ evaluations of political ads. While extraverted messages had no direct effect, that was unrelated to attitude congruency, recipients’ level of extraversion moderated the effect of extraverted communication on their evaluation of an ad. Interestingly, the intention to vote was significantly higher when an attitude-incongruent statement was phrased in an introverted rather than an extraverted manner, suggesting that information that challenges prior attitudes might be more persuasive when it is delivered in a more temperate way. In sum, the study indicates that matching message with personality alone might not be the most effective microtargeting approach within democratic societies.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Decker & Nicole Krämer, 2023. "Is Personality Key? Persuasive Effects of Prior Attitudes and Personality in Political Microtargeting," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(3), pages 250-261.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v:11:y:2023:i:3:p:250-261
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Argyris, Young Anna & Muqaddam, Aziz & Miller, Steven, 2021. "The effects of the visual presentation of an Influencer's Extroversion on perceived credibility and purchase intentions—moderated by personality matching with the audience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
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