A research team at Stanford University in the US have adopted an experimental approach to gauge the cathartic effects of smacking images of a range of leading American political figures. In conjunction with US newspaper The Washington Post, they challenged players to "Whack-a-Pol", "Whack-a-Dictator" and "Whack-a-Celeb".
"Independents who played whack-a-dictator expressed less harsh evaluations of the Republican Party and President Bush when they were surveyed after, rather than before, the game (the effect amounted to a 9 percent reduction in negativity toward Republicans)," said [Shanto] Iyengar, who designed the experiment.
There are plenty of psychological tests to assess "unconscious" attitudes. They can range from self-report to experimentation. In the latter camp, response-time assessment measures the speed with which a participant reacts to a stimulus, suggesting a faster response equals more salience in his or her cognitive repertoire. Indeed, this research may also show a result of peoples' associations between national and international leaders. In that case, they may not be so pleased with the apparent association between George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein.
For years, pollsters have relied upon surveys to predict behaviour in political competitions. Perhaps a game like this could give insight into voter intentions.
