About
In 2018, Cambridge Analytica (in)famously harvested Facebook data of millions of Americans and claimed to have targeted voters with specific political advertisements based on their unique personalities. As Cambridge Analytica’s tactics came to light, it sparked a broader debate about the ethical implications of political advertising that target an individual’s personality. But there’s been almost no research examining whether personality-congruent political ads actually work.
Objectives
The primary objectives of this project are to:
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Examine whether the content of political advertising can be tailored to a specific personality trait (or traits) in order to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisement.
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Examine whether the subject of a political message is more effective when it is a personality-congruent candidate or a personality-congruent policy.
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Examine whether electors with certain personality traits are drawn to political advertising with a certain style or tone (i.e., negative ads) that is congruent with their personality.
Personality and Political Advertising: Multiple Tests of the Congruency Hypothesis
