Date of Graduation
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Political Science
Advisor/Mentor
Parry, Janine
Committee Member/Reader
Schreckhise, William
Committee Member/Second Reader
Robinson, Samantha
Committee Member/Third Reader
Sakon, Josh
Abstract
How does the presence of a high-profile female candidate impact citizen gender perceptions about women in politics, specifically conservative candidates? Studies aimed at finding which common identities voters will align with, whether it be gender or political party, have found that voters will be more likely to align with their party rather than gender. In The Clinton Effect? The (Non)Impact of a High-Profile Candidate on Gender Stereotypes it was found that voters primed for Clinton did not experience a difference in gender perceptions as compared to those not primed. Voters still carry biased views as they define appropriate attributes of a woman differently, but will the introduction of a conservative candidate make any difference? I predict that exposure to high-profile candidates will cause voters to have more egalitarian gendered perceptions. Data was collected in the 2021 Arkansas Poll, a statewide representative survey made up of 800 respondents. I tested the hypotheses by priming half of the survey respondents to approve or disapprove of Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Leslie Rutledge before answering a group of gender perception questions, the latter to which all respondents answered. The results were consistent with the Clinton study in that there was not a significant impact on gender perceptions with the introduction of a high-profile conservative candidate. The findings display how partisan voters experience high-profile, conservative, female candidates and add to discussions on the impact of women in elections.
Keywords
Arkansas; Arkansas Politics; Women in Politics
Citation
Delacey, F. (2022). The 2022 Arkansas Gubernatorial Election and the Impact of High-Profile Conservative Women on Gender Perceptions. Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/plscuht/17