The mere exposure effect of tweets on vote choice

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the effects of exposure to political candidates’ tweets on vote choice in the context of the 2018 local election in South Korea. A field experiment was conducted among the Twitter users of two constituencies, Seoul and Kyonggi-do. Participants in the experimental group were guided on Twitter to follow a leading candidate in their electoral district. The results show that following a candidate on Twitter was positively linked to voting for the candidate through candidate likability in Kyonggi-do. On the other hand, following a candidate on Twitter was negatively linked to voting for the candidate in Seoul.

KEYWORDS:

• Twitter
• mere exposure effect
• vote choice
• involvement

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hyunjung Kim

Hyunjung Kim is an Assistant Professor of Division of Liberal Arts and Science at Korea National Sport  University.