Emotions in non-verbal communication at pre-election debates: a review of resources on the importance of politicians’ mimics at TV political debates and other forms of media messages

ABSTRACT

The following text summarises the results of studies in the field of non-verbal communication, especially facial expressions closely linked to political television debates and other forms of political media appearances and their influence on voters and their emotional experience. The aim of this research is to map the current state of knowledge and research direction in this field and provide theoretical and methodological basis for further research. The text therefore analyses, compares and summarises the results of these previous studies. It focuses on specific connections of non-verbal communication of politicians, especially face expression and their influence on voters and their preferences. And it deals with the methodology of these studies and the problems they faced. In conclusion, the text offers questions to discuss about how useable results of these researches are in the reality and important questions to consider for further research. These researches have been realised in different countries and the form of communication that we analyse here transcends the borders of cultures and states. This text is a synthesis of research in the field of communication, psychology and political science, thus enriching individual scientific disciplines and expanding the possibilities of further research.

KEYWORDS:

• Non-verbal communication
• facial expressions
• emotions
• debates
• communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Grant information: ‘The contribution was made with the support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic awarded by the Palacký University in Olomouc (IGA_FF_2019_034)’. Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy.

Notes on contributors

Adéla Štěpánková

Author graduated in psychology at Palacký University in Olomouc and currently studying postgraduate political science at the same university. Also work as a psychologist in the Pedagogical and Psychological Counseling Center of the Olomouc Region. Her research focus on non-verbal communication of politicians and its possible influence on voters.