Visual framing reduces perceived competence of congresswomen
Double-Edged Sword of Mediated Visibility: How Visual Framing Undermines Congresswomen's Perceived Competence
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Summary
Women in Congress are less visible on TV news and often shown in split-screen views instead of alone. The authors found that when women politicians appear in split-screen, viewers see them as less competent, but this doesn’t happen to men. However, in videos, the effect on competence disappears, but angry language makes women seem less warm compared to men. Showing women politicians alone may help female viewers feel more politically capable.
What this means in practice
- •For news producers: Improve female politicians’ on-screen presentation by reducing split-screen shots to enhance perceived competence.
- •For political campaign teams: Design media appearances for female candidates that emphasize solo shots and manage language tone to improve public perception.
Authors
Bryce J. Dietrich, Hyein Ko, Myriam Shiran
Abstract
Women's presence in Congress has stalled below 30%. That institutional underrepresentation is mirrored by their limited visibility on televised news, where visual presentation can shape perceived competence and authority. Yet research tells us more about whether congresswomen appear than how they are visually framed. Facial recognition analysis of 695,464 image-text segments from CNN and Fox News (2011-2021) reveals that congresswomen appear disproportionately in split-screen rather than solo shots. Two pre-registered experiments with 6,220 participants show that, in static frames, split-screen framing reduces congresswomen's perceived political competence, but not congressmen's. In dynamic videos, the competence penalty disappears; instead, outraged language reduces a congresswoman's perceived warmth roughly three times as much as a congressman's. Suggestive evidence (p = .057) indicates that women viewers report greater external political efficacy after watching a congresswoman appear alone. We conclude that visual framing shapes both congresswomen's mediated visibility and their perceived capabilities.