Audio or video? Modality effects on perception, emotions and attitude towards politicians in press conferences

Abstract

Speeches to the nation offer presidents the potential to influence people. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders’ discourses on the nation have been followed by many citizens in different modalities. However, are there differences if the audience watches or listens to the politician in a press conference? This research examines how the modality of presentation (audio or video) influences the perception of attractiveness, persuasiveness, credibility, emotional response, attitude and voting intention. A sample of 360 participants evaluated these variables after watching two videos and listening to two audio segments of the former president of the United States (Trump), the ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom (Johnson) and the president of the Government of Spain (Sanchez) in press conferences about coronavirus. The results showed that modality is an important variable in the participants’ perceptions, emotions and attitudes. Audio was the format in which politicians were perceived as more attractive, persuasive, credible, energetic and dominant. The attitude towards them and the voting intention were also higher in response to the audio version. However, some emotions, such as neutrality, anger and sadness, were better perceived in the video presentations.