POLITICS AND PERSUASIONnents. This tactic was clearly in use during the British General Election
campaign of 2010, when the Conservative party repeatedly branded
Labour’s planned increase in National Insurance as a “jobs tax”. This
was an especially canny move, because research consistently shows that
people are swayed more by negative than by positive information – an
effect known as the negativity bias.
Politicians would also do well to remember that the easier a message is
to process, the more likely people will think it true and agree with it. This
is called the fluency effect, and can be achieved through such superficial
means as an easy-to-read font, or through repetition. While people sense
the ease with which they’ve processed the message, they’re not so good at
identifying why it was easy to process, assuming that it must be because
of its truth or familiarity. The implications for politicians are manifold
- for example, in the writing of political slogans and manifestos. Finally,
when on the defensive, it’s unwise for politicians to repeat any allega-
tions made against them. The more times people hear it, the easier it is
to process and believe it.