Bradley University and the Department of Communication are participating in presidential election research as part of a nationwide election consortium with other universities. Researchers found that college students perceive that Hillary Clinton consistently outperformed Donald Trump in their three presidential debates. Results from the debate studies showed that evaluations of Clinton rose after every debate, while evaluations of Trump largely remained the same.
“Bradley students were able to view a debate while simultaneously accessing their smart phones, laptops, or tablets, just like they would from home. The idea was to create a setting similar to their experience of watching television at home,” said Anji L. Phillips, assistant professor of Communication in Television Arts. “Participants in the study were asked which candidate they were most likely to vote for before and after each debate.”
Researchers found the number of college-aged voters who said they would most likely vote for Clinton rose in the first two debates, while the likelihood they would vote for Trump decreased in the first debate, and remained the same in the second. The percentage of students who said they would vote for Clinton rose from 46 percent before to 51 percent after the third debate. The likelihood they would vote for Trump stayed at 26 percent. Those who chose “neither” candidate declined from 27 to 23 percent. Among participants in the third presidential debate-viewing study, 42 percent self-identified as Democrats, 39 percent as Republicans, and 19 percent as Independents.
Results showed, among the sample of college-aged students participating, Hillary Clinton’s performance in every debate moved undecided voters toward her, while Trump’s debate performances did not do the same for him.
Participants were also asked to evaluate candidates using a “feeling thermometer” from 0-100. Clinton’s evaluations rose in the first two debates, while Trump’s evaluations rose in the first debate but declined in the second. Clinton’s evaluations rose again in the third debate from 38 to 44 degrees after the debate. Trump’s evaluation remained steady at 27 degrees.
Researchers surveyed approximately 1800 college-aged participants throughout the debate series from Bradley University, as well as students from the University of Missouri, Cameron University in Oklahoma, Emerson College in Boston, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Marquette University, Missouri State University, Rhodes College in Tennessee, San Diego State University, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Wyoming.
