All Parties Believe Obama’s Chances for Election Increased after Viewing Joe Biden Speech
Results from a national focus group among 330 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents revealed that all
parties reported that Barack Obama’s chances of being elected are increased after viewing segments of a speech from vice
presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden.
The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during August 29
and September 1, to obtain Americans’ perceptions of video segments from Senator Joe Biden’s speech at the Democratic
National Convention.
Among the study findings:
The Joe Biden speech earned Barack Obama earned a Political Communications Impact Score (PCIS) of 25.3 for Obama and
McCain received a score of 10.6, resulting in a net score of 14.6 for Obama. The scores can be compared to a mean score
of 10.4 for previously tested Obama ads and 7.3 for previously tested McCain ads. To date, the total mean score for all
previously tested Obama and McCain ads is 8.8.
The PCIS is a metric scoring system designed to gauge the effectiveness of political communications by generating a
score for each candidate to monitor changes in voter perceptions. The PCIS score is derived from the change in voters’
support and the extent that the support shifts. To view scores of recent studies go to: Mediacurves
While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right
on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The
participants’ emotions were measured using the Ayer Emotion Battery. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing
questions. To view believability curves and detailed results of the study go to: www.mediacurves.com.
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular
and controversial media events and advertisements.
ENDS