“Too many Americans are trapped in fear, violence and poverty”: a psychology-informed sentiment analysis of campaign speeches from the 2016 US Presidential Election

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hoffmann

AbstractMost automatic sentiment analyses of texts tend to only employ a simple positive-negative polarity to classify emotions. In this paper, I illustrate a more fine-grained automatic sentiment analysis [Jockers, Matthew. 2016. Introduction to the Syuzhet package. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/syuzhet/vignettes/syuzhet-vignette.html (accessed 07 March 2017).; Mohammad, Saif M. & Peter D. Turney. 2013. Crowd sourcing a word-emotion association lexicon. Computational Intelligence 29(3). 436–465.] that is based on a classification of human emotions that has been put forward by psychological research [Plutchik, Robert. 1994. The psychology and biology of emotion. New York, NY: HarperCollins College Publishers.]. The advantages of this approach are illustrated by a sample study that analyses the emotional sentiment of the campaign speeches of the two main candidates of the 2016 US presidential election.

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamir Levy ◽  
Joseph Yagil

<p class="ber"><span lang="EN-GB">This study investigates the relationship between daily US presidential election poll results and stock returns. The sample consists of the daily presidential election polls published in the New-York Times for the period between May 31 and November 5, 2012. They include the percentage of support for the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, and the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. The findings indicate that stock returns are positively related to the poll results that support the candidate favored to win the election.</span></p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
David McGuire ◽  
Thomas N. Garavan ◽  
James Cunningham ◽  
Greg Duffy

Purpose – The use of imagery in leadership speeches is becoming increasingly important in shaping the beliefs and actions of followers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of speech imagery and linguistic features employed during the 2008 US Presidential Election campaign. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analysed a total of 264 speeches (160 speeches from Obama and 104 speeches from McCain) delivered throughout the 2008 US Presidential Election and identified 15 speech images used by the two candidates. Both descriptive coding and axial coding approaches were applied to the data and speech images common to both candidates were further subjected to Pennebaker et al. (2003) linguistic inquiry methodology. Findings – The analysis revealed a number of important differences with Obama using inclusive language and nurturing communitarian values, whereas McCain focusing on personal actions and strict, conservative individualistic values. The use of more inclusive language by Obama was found to be significant in three of the five speech images common to both candidates. Research limitations/implications – The research acknowledges the difficulty of measuring the effectiveness of speech images without taking into account wider factors such as tone of voice, facial expression and level of conviction. It also recognises the heavy use of speechwriters by presidential candidates whilst on the campaign trail, but argues that candidates still exert a strong influence through instructions to speechwriters and that speeches should reflect the candidate’s values and beliefs. Originality/value – The research findings contribute to the emerging stream of leadership research that addresses language content issues surrounding and embedded in the leadership process. The research argues that leaders’ speeches provide a fertile ground for conducting research and for examining the evolving relationship between leaders and followers.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Vize ◽  
Katherine Collison ◽  
Donald Lynam ◽  
Josh Miller

Objective: Partialing procedures are frequently used in psychological research. The present study sought to further explore the consequences of partialing, focusing on the replicability of partialing-based results. Method: We used popular measures of the Dark Triad (DT; Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) to explore the replicability of partialing procedures. We examined whether the residual content of popular DT scales are similar to the residual content of DT scales derived from separate samples based on relations with individual items from the IPIP-NEO-120, allowing for a fine-grained analysis of residual variable content. Results: Profiles were compared using three sample sizes (Small N=156-157, Moderate N = 313-314, Large N = 627-628) randomly drawn from a large MTurk sample (N = 1,255). There was low convergence among original/residual DT scales within samples. Additionally, results showed the content of residual Dirty Dozen scales was not similar across samples. Similar results were found for Short Dark Triad-Machiavellianism, but only in the moderate and small samples. Conclusion: The results indicate that there are important issues that arise when using partialing procedures, including replicability issues surrounding residual variables. Reasons for the observed results are discussed and further research examining the replicability of residual-based results is recommended.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110292
Author(s):  
Madhavi Reddi ◽  
Rachel Kuo ◽  
Daniel Kreiss

This article develops the concept of “identity propaganda,” or narratives that strategically target and exploit identity-based differences in accord with pre-existing power structures to maintain hegemonic social orders. In proposing and developing the concept of identity propaganda, we especially aim to help researchers find new insights into their data on misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda by outlining a framework for unpacking layers of historical power relations embedded in the content they analyze. We focus on three forms of identity propaganda: othering narratives that alienate and marginalize non-white or non-dominant groups; essentializing narratives that create generalizing tropes of marginalized groups; and authenticating narratives that call upon people to prove or undermine their claims to be part of certain groups. We demonstrate the utility of this framework through our analysis of identity propaganda around Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2020 US presidential election.


European View ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 178168582110046
Author(s):  
Sandra Kalniete ◽  
Tomass Pildegovičs

Against the backdrop of the deterioration of EU–Russia relations in recent years, there has been a shift in the awareness of hybrid threats all across the Union. At the same time, there is evidence of a growing political will to strengthen resilience to these threats. While hostile foreign actors have long deployed hybrid methods to target Europe, Russia’s intervention in Ukraine in 2014, interference in the 2016 US presidential election, and repeated cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns aimed at EU member states have marked a turning point, exposing Western countries’ unpreparedness and vulnerability to these threats. This article analyses the EU’s resilience to hybrid warfare from institutional, regulatory and societal perspectives, with a particular focus on the information space. By drawing on case studies from member states historically at the forefront of resisting and countering Russian-backed disinformation campaigns, this article outlines the case for a whole-of-society approach to countering hybrid threats and underscores the need for EU leadership in a standard-setting capacity.


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