Evaluations of Presidential Campaign Speakers as a Function of Similarity and Expectancy Disconfirmation

During the week prior to the November 1972 U.S. Presidential election, 249 college students heard a young, “freaky”-appearing or an old, “straight”-appearing speaker—corresponding to a stereotyped McGovern or Nilon advocate—deliver a speech for either the expected or unexpected candidate. Espectancy had little effect on speaker ratings, but speakers were rated more positively by subjects who were similar to them in age. appearance, and (especially) candidate preference. Similarity, particularly in regard to preferred presidential candidate, affected the ratings of the speaker made by pro-McGovern subjects to a greater degree than the ratings made by pro-Nixon subjects. These data suggested that college-aged Nixon supporters may have experienced an identification conflict.