Cognitive aspect of political advertising in mass-media

Marina R. Zheltoukhina (Volgograd, Russia)

Email: zzmr@mail.ru

 

ABSTRACT:

Political advertising aspires to create a new image of the candidate, strengthens, softens or overestimates former image, taking into account verbal and nonverbal aspects. Game on emotions of the addressee is represented by the basic direction of imageology. Some researches of image of the candidate are devoted to the common affective features, the person, social attributions and compare image of the person to his real behaviour. The interrelation between electoral ratings of behaviour of the candidate and preferences is traced at voting, use by electorate of the cognitive circuits for formation of image of the candidate which subsequently influences their estimation is investigated. At recognition of political advertising production many voters use the following circuits: personal factors of the candidate, cases in point, group mutual relation and party identification. Candidates apply various psychological methods of political advertising: the reference to safety; the appeal to fear; Patriotic appeals, symbols; the reference to family and the people of one's circle; personal certificates of known supporters of the candidate, the casual passer-by.

Negative emotional advertising is remembered better, than positive even if not especially it is pleasant, due to use in it automatic, instead of controllable processing of the information. Creation of a negative background in political advertising may achieve necessary result even if the opponent does not refer to as by name. Contrast of a positive and a negative of the message promotes the best storing of the negative information. The advertising focused on the program of the candidate, causes to him more sympathies, however image advertising is better perceived by visual memory.

Despite of representation that an overall objective of political advertising – change of installations of voters, rather small quantity of political advertising clips actually influence someone's consciousness so that people change the choice. Political advertising helps to crystallize existing installations to specify them, to support them to hold not so sure voter "in a circle" supporters, to receive feedback in day of elections. Reaction to political advertising may depend on connection, which the voter feels with the candidate:

1. objective belief ("I like his economic program"),
2. subjective emotionality ("I think, that he is good"),
3. discrepancy of the objective and subjective ("I agree with all points of the program of the candidate, but it seems to me, that he is a bad person").

For achievement of efficiency of influence of mass-media on consciousness of voters it is necessary to investigate structures of knowledge which the addressee creates about political figures. The theory of semantic processing of mass-media (Biocca), the theory of cognitive circuits and the semiotic theory, researches of political advertising and its effects (Faber, Jamieson, Johnson-Cartee, Copeland, Kaid, Holtz-Bacha) will make the theoretical base of studying of these cognitive structures.

Mass-media openly or veiled form our representations about the political world, involuntarily, and more often intentionally reach objects in view, influencing on mentality and behaviour of the person. Mass-media actively maintain mythological essence of human consciousness, leaning on emotional-affective and conditional-symbolical images by transfer of the information.