Title
How Communication Design Motivates Voter Participation: Comparing Instrumental vs. Social Rhetoric
Date of Award
Spring 2014
Author Requested Restriction
Open Access (no embargo, no restriction)
Work Type
Masters Capstone Project
Degree Name
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies (MA)
Department
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
First Advisor
Huatong Sun
Second Advisor
Emma Rose
Abstract
This written defense of my degree project describes how l used contemporary communication design theory to develop postcards for the Office of the Washington Secretary of State urging voter registration before the 2013 General Election deadline. In addition to measuring the overall effectiveness of the postcards, this project evaluated the registration and turnout differences between two treatments in a study funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The aim of the study was to add to the small but growing body of interdisciplinary research concerning communication design and voter participation. To determine which communication design techniques motivate more postcard recipients to register to vote, I designed one treatment which emphasized the instrumental aspects of the postcard by describing the convenience of the registration process, and another postcard treatment that attempted to persuade recipients to register using social rhetoric. The results of the study offers several “lessons learned” for future voter outreach communication design.
Recommended Citation
Pryor, Lindsay, "How Communication Design Motivates Voter Participation: Comparing Instrumental vs. Social Rhetoric" (2014). MAIS Projects and Theses. 21.
https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/ias_masters/21
Included in
Graphic Communications Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Public Administration Commons, Rhetoric and Composition Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons