Candidate Evaluation Model
A candidate evaluation model represents how voters form overall assessments of political candidates as a latent function of perceived traits (competence, leadership, integrity, empathy), partisanship, issue proximity, and affect. It spans the trait-based factor models of Kinder et al. (1980) and the online-processing tally model of Lodge, Steenbergen and Brau (1995), which describes evaluation as a running summary updated as information arrives.
Read the full method
Sign in with a free account to read this section.
Method map
The neighbourhood of related methods — select a node to explore.
Sources
- Lodge, M., Steenbergen, M. R., & Brau, S. (1995). The responsive voter: Campaign information and the dynamics of candidate evaluation. American Political Science Review, 89(2), 309-326. DOI: 10.2307/2082427 ↗
- Kinder, D. R., Peters, M. D., Abelson, R. P., & Fiske, S. T. (1980). Presidential prototypes. Political Behavior, 2(4), 315-337. DOI: 10.1007/BF00990172 ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Latent Candidate Evaluation and Impression Model. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/political-psychology/candidate-evaluation-model
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- Emotion Appraisal in PoliticsPolitical Psychology↔ compare
- Feeling Thermometer AnalysisPolitical Psychology↔ compare
- Partisan Identity ScalePolitical Psychology↔ compare
- Political Ideology ScalingPolitical Psychology↔ compare