The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations
This case study investigated how the language of White House press secretaries is modified by periods of scandal and by administration goals. We evaluated two administrations and their associated scandals: The Benghazi attack from the Obama administration and Russian election interference from the T...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Psychology of Language and Communication |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2024-0003 |
| _version_ | 1826841520049750016 |
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| author | Ely Maxwell Markowitz David Matthew |
| author_facet | Ely Maxwell Markowitz David Matthew |
| author_sort | Ely Maxwell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This case study investigated how the language of White House press secretaries is modified by periods of scandal and by administration goals. We evaluated two administrations and their associated scandals: The Benghazi attack from the Obama administration and Russian election interference from the Trump administration. Results suggested the psychological and emotional focus of press secretaries changed during scandal compared to before scandal. That is, press secretaries had a more negative tone during each scandal compared to before each scandal. Contrary to prior evidence, time after scandal was not associated with a reduction in self-focus, and press secretary language patterns were largely not moderated by administration (nor their goals). Therefore, language patterns of press secretaries reveal their psychological and emotional processing during a scandal using naturally occurring and in-the-moment text data. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:20:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-407f8a53a5a7413193425ebaddbe9042 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2083-8506 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-16T13:03:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychology of Language and Communication |
| spelling | doaj.art-407f8a53a5a7413193425ebaddbe90422025-02-02T15:49:15ZengSciendoPsychology of Language and Communication2083-85062023-01-01281597610.58734/plc-2024-0003The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrationsEly Maxwell0Markowitz David Matthew11School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, United States1School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, United StatesThis case study investigated how the language of White House press secretaries is modified by periods of scandal and by administration goals. We evaluated two administrations and their associated scandals: The Benghazi attack from the Obama administration and Russian election interference from the Trump administration. Results suggested the psychological and emotional focus of press secretaries changed during scandal compared to before scandal. That is, press secretaries had a more negative tone during each scandal compared to before each scandal. Contrary to prior evidence, time after scandal was not associated with a reduction in self-focus, and press secretary language patterns were largely not moderated by administration (nor their goals). Therefore, language patterns of press secretaries reveal their psychological and emotional processing during a scandal using naturally occurring and in-the-moment text data.https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2024-0003scandallanguagepress secretariespolitical communication |
| spellingShingle | Ely Maxwell Markowitz David Matthew The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations Psychology of Language and Communication scandal language press secretaries political communication |
| title | The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations |
| title_full | The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations |
| title_fullStr | The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations |
| title_full_unstemmed | The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations |
| title_short | The psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal: A case study of the Obama and Trump administrations |
| title_sort | psychological focus of white house press secretaries during scandal a case study of the obama and trump administrations |
| topic | scandal language press secretaries political communication |
| url | https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2024-0003 |
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