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Tell Me Who Is Your Leader, and I Will Tell You Who You Are: Foreign Leaders’ Perceived Personality and Public Attitudes toward Their Countries and Citizenry

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  • Meital Balmas

Abstract

The increasing visibility of prominent political leaders in news media is well documented in political science literature. The main concern that has been raised in this connection is that the complexity of political processes is being reduced to achievements and standpoints of individual politicians, and the importance of rational opinion building is discounted. The results of the current study provide the first empirical evidence to account for the misgivings about emotional effects of personalized political information on media audiences. Using data from an online experiment, this study shows that news coverage regarding behaviors and personal characteristics of a foreign leader influences (a) evaluations of personal characteristics typical of his or her nation's citizens and (b) emotional perceptions of that leader's country (sentiment and respect). This effect is shown to reflect a psychological phenomenon whereby people project their emotions and perceptions regarding a leader's personal characteristics onto his or her country and people.

Suggested Citation

  • Meital Balmas, 2018. "Tell Me Who Is Your Leader, and I Will Tell You Who You Are: Foreign Leaders’ Perceived Personality and Public Attitudes toward Their Countries and Citizenry," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(2), pages 499-514, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:62:y:2018:i:2:p:499-514
    DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12354
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    Cited by:

    1. Carly Knight, 2022. "When Corporations Are People: Agent Talk and the Development of Organizational Actorhood, 1890–1934," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 51(4), pages 1634-1680, November.
    2. Becker, Malte & Krüger, Finja & Heidland, Tobias, 2024. "What Drives Attitudes toward Immigrants in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Uganda and Senegal," IZA Discussion Papers 16734, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Imran Hasnat & Glenn Leshner, 2022. "Experimental methods in public diplomacy," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 254-260, September.
    4. Lucca Hoffeller & Nils D. Steiner, 2023. "Sympathies for Putin within the German public: A consequence of political alienation?," Working Papers 2314, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.

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