Topic

The impact of political microtargeting on election outcomes is a much-debated topic in political communication. Scholars and media pundits have expressed their worries about political microtargeting since the 2016 Trump campaign, the UK Leave-EU campaign, and the alleged role of Cambridge Analytica in the outcome of these campaigns. But is it truly as powerful as many claim? To date, empirical studies have struggled to provide evidence supporting the persuasive effects of political microtargeting. As a result, its effectiveness as a campaign tactic remains uncertain. In my dissertation, I explore the way individuals process targeted political advertisements. For example, I examine whether people notice targeted political advertisements by conducting eye-tracking experiments. Additionally, I study whether political advertisements can affect the way people think by conducting thought-listing experiments. In this talk, I will present the results of my dissertation thus far, and discuss where the field of political microtargeting should move next.

About the speaker

Puck C. Guldemond is a PhD candidate at the Strategic Communication group of Wageningen University & Research. Her PhD focuses on the psychological processes underlying the effects of political microtargeting. Her research interests include data‐driven campaigning, political influence and behavior on social media, computational social sciences, and populist rhetoric in political communication.

Please join us in REC C1.05!

If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to Olga Eisele

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We hope to see many of you! 

The CeCoR committee