No laughing matter: The moderating role of gender stereotypes in humorous political attack advertisements

As more women enter the political arena, particularly during an era of intense polarization and negative campaigning, surprisingly few studies have examined the efficacy of political attack advertising through the lens of gender stereotypes. Relying on the premises of affective intelligence theory, I argue that emotional cues in attack advertisements can influence the accessibility of gender stereotypes to viewers. This experimental research examines how male and female candidates are evaluated differently based upon whether the attack utilizes positive or negative valence. The analyses support the proposition that reliance on gender stereotypes may be conditional upon the valence of the cue. Findings suggest that humorous attack ads, or those, which employ a positive valence, may be less effective at discrediting women candidates.