By identifying cues other than name recognition, they were able to assess and accurately determine the importance of name recognition in electoral decisions. Other cues that were identified within the study included gender, incumbency status, spending, etc. The approach to this study was very deductive—the study started with basic name recognition progressively dials in on it’s importance compared to other cues. Now, the independent variable in each of the studies is going to be name recognition. Who the subjects choose, based on the information disclosed, is the dependent …show more content…
They hypothesized that, in the absence of other cues, it is fairly important. The assumption that there is a direct relationship between name recognition and electoral decision making was proven to exist through their research. Their experiments not only demonstrated that subliminal presentations of a hypothetical candidate's name have significant effects on a voter's choice, but also that the effects are larger in magnitude than anticipated. However, Zam also uncovered that when other cues/factors (race or ethnicity, appearance, or incumbency) are both available and more applicable, name recognition becomes less important. Why? Due to the fact that those factors can influence vote choice directly, name recognition takes a back seat. Also, those factors may reduce reliance upon recognition in directly determining vote