Nichole Bauer

Associate Professor of Political Communication, Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge

Areas of Expertise:

Media & Public Opinion

Connect with Nichole

About Nichole

Bauer’s research identifies how and when voters use gender stereotypes to evaluate female politicians. In particular; she examines when gender stereotypes have a negative effect on electoral support for female candidates. Bauer’s current research identifies how campaign communication; including televised ads; campaign websites; and news articles; conveys information about candidates that can confirm or counter feminine stereotypes. Overall; her research finds that voter reliance on feminine stereotypes is highly conditional. Factors affecting how and when voters use feminine stereotypes include the extent to which voters have information about a particular female politician that aligns with feminine stereotypes; the type of election at stake; and the candidate’s partisanship. Her work is published; or forthcoming; in Political Psychology; Political Behavior; and Politics; Groups; and Identities among other journals.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Are Gender Stereotypes a Problem for Female Candidates?

Key Findings Brief, September 2015

In the News

Quoted by Emily Scherer in "You’ll Never Know Which Candidate Is Electable," FiveThirtyEight, February 7, 2020.

Quoted by Lauren Holter in "The Recent Abortion Bans Could Actually Be *Good* News — Here’s Why," Bustle, May 17, 2018.

Quoted by Ashley Cusick in "As New Orleans Mayor is Sworn in Monday, La. Has Three Black Women Leading Its Largest Cities," The Washington Post, May 6, 2018.

Opinion: "What to Expect From Clinton and Trump During Tonight’s Presidential Debate," Nichole Bauer, Fortune, October 9, 2016.

Research discussed by Tom Jacobs, in "Masculine Traits Look Good on Female Candidates," Pacific Standard, July 27, 2016.

Quoted by Jeff Stein in "The Weeds: Is it Harder to Run for President as a Woman?," Vox, June 10, 2016.

Opinion: "Here’s What the Research Tells Us about Whether Sexism is Hurting Hillary Clinton’s Prospects," Nichole Bauer, The Washington Post, February 5, 2016.

Research discussed by Meredith Conroy, in "Featured New Scholarship: Gender and Political Psychology," Western Political Science Association Blog, April 20, 2015.

Research discussed by Samara Klar, in "Women Fight More than Men over Politics: Why a Record Number of Females in Congress Won't Mean More Bipartisanship," Politico, December 9, 2014.

Research discussed by "What Matters with Negativity is Timing," Wesleyan Media Project Advertising Analysis, October 22, 2014.

Opinion: "Voters Only Punish Female Candidates Who Use Negativity in Their Campaigns if They are from the Opposing Party," Nichole Bauer (with Yanna Krupnikov), LSE American Politics & Policy Blog, March 18, 2014.

Quoted by Alan Greenblatt in "Slow Ride to City Hall for Female Candidates," National Public Radio, July 17, 2013.

Guest on NPR: Morning Edition: Republicans Focus on Sen. Bayh's Seat, February 26, 2010.

Publications

"Saving Face: Identifying Voter Responses to Black and Female Candidates" (with Yanna Krupnikov and Spencer Piston). Political Psychology (forthcoming).

Argues that existing experimental research overestimates voter support for Black and female candidates, but these issues can be mitigated with the simple innovation presented here.

"Emotional, Sensitive, and Unfit for Office: Stereotype Activation and Support for Female Candidates" Political Psychology (forthcoming).

Argues that campaign communication activates stereotypes when they otherwise might not be activated, thereby diminishing support for female candidates.

"Who Stereotypes Female Candidates? Identifying Individual Differences in Feminine Stereotype Reliance" Politics, Groups, and Identities 3, no. 1 (2015): 94-110.

Argues that most individuals do not rely on feminine stereotypes, but those who attribute feminine stereotypes to female candidates are also less likely to vote for a female candidate.

"The Relationship Between Campaign Negativity, Gender and Campaign Context" (with Yanna Krupnikov). Political Behavior 36, no. 1 (2014): 167-188.

Argues that, compared to their male counterparts, female candidates do face some added constraints when going negative in a campaign. Discusses how not only are voters more or less likely to use gender stereotypes under certain conditions, but these conditions are highly dependent on the campaign context.