The transformation of contemporary politics into a media spectacle dominated by visual stimuli has revealed the need for standardized methodologies to generate and measure emotional responses in political contexts. This paper presents an experimental methodology designed to provide a standardized, controlled, and scalable approach to investigate the emotional dimensions of politics. The methodology integrates the use of the Self-Assessment Manikin with standardized experimental protocols that allow for the controlled presentation of political stimuli, precise measurement of affective responses, and analysis of their patterns based on individual and contextual variables. The validation study involved 245 university participants and yielded 49,855 affective data points across 70 political and neutral stimuli, providing strong statistical power for psychometric and structural analyses. Results confirmed the expected tridimensional structure of affective responses (Valence, Arousal, Dominance) and demonstrated systematic differences between political and control stimuli, with strong ideological polarization effects ( η 2 = . 321 ) validating the methodology’s sensitivity to capture relevant emotional dynamics in polarized political contexts. Structural equation models revealed that emotional dimensions significantly predicted voting intention, underscoring the potential of this methodology for electoral behavior research. The methodology provides a robust and transferable methodological framework for studying political emotions, establishing solid foundations for integration into advanced experimental designs and psychophysiological measurements.
Martín et al. (Mon,) studied this question.