Charismatic and Affective Rhetoric in a Presidential Campaign

Although prior research demonstrates that charisma and rhetoric are two determinants of voting behavior, few studies have examined the effects of charismatic rhetoric and affect as they pertain to the outcomes of presidential elections. Using DICTION software for content analysis, 432 pre-convention speeches from the 2008 presidential election were analyzed to explore the effects that charismatic rhetoric and affect have on presidential candidates’ success. Results indicate that there were more similarities than differences in the charismatic and affect-laden rhetoric of successful and unsuccessful presidential candidates in both the Republican and Democratic parties. Overall, the results demonstrate that both successful and unsuccessful presidential candidates used charismatic rhetoric and emotional language to motivate their followers in the 2008 presidential election

Does Happiness Launch More Businesses? Affect, Gender, and Entrepreneurial Intention

In one of the first studies to examine how positive affect, negative affect, gender, and gender roles interact with entrepreneurial intention, we conducted an online survey of 849 adults from the western, midwestern, and southern regions of the United States. A higher positive affect was associated with greater intention to start a business, however, lower levels of negative affect were not. As in previous studies, women showed less entrepreneurial intention than men, however, the presence of positive affect had a larger positive impact on women’s entrepreneurial intention than men’s. Contrary to expectations, acceptance of traditional gender roles interacted with entrepreneurial intention such that women’s entrepreneurial intention increased as their support of traditional gender roles increased, and for men, entrepreneurial intention decreased slightly as acceptance of traditional gender roles increased