Party Polarization, Media Choice, and Mass Partisan-Ideological Sorting

Davis, Nicholas T.; Dunaway, Johanna

doi:10.1093/poq/nfw002

Cited by 89 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Gvirsman (2014), for example, demonstrate that proponents of a strong political ideology report significantly more reliance on partisan media as a news source. Another study finds mixed support for the hypothesis that increased media choice increases polarization, as the effect was present only among those high in political interest (Davis & Dunaway, 2016). The authors therefore conclude that 'the increased availability of partisan news via expanding media choice may not translate into mass effects beyond those highly interested in politics' (p. 292).…”

Section: Concern 4: Towards Increasing Polarization and Fragmentationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

Aelst

Strömbäck

Aalberg

et al. 2017

Annals of the International Communication Association

607

347

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During the last decennia media environments and political communication systems have changed fundamentally. These changes have major ramifications for the political information environments and the extent to which they aid people in becoming informed citizens. Against this background, the purpose of this article is to review research on key changes and trends in political information environments and assess their democratic implications. We will focus on advanced postindustrial democracies and six concerns that are all closely linked to the dissemination and acquisition of political knowledge: (1) declining supply of political information, (2) declining quality of news, (3) increasing media concentration and declining diversity of news, (4) increasing fragmentation and polarization, (5) increasing relativism and (6) increasing inequality in political knowledge. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Concern 4: Towards Increasing Polarization and Fragmentationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

Aelst

Strömbäck

Aalberg

et al. 2017

Annals of the International Communication Association

607

347

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conventional explanations for why Americans’ political identities have converged over time focus primarily on the role of elite polarization (Levendusky, ) and structural changes in the media environment (Davis and Dunaway, ). In this article, I show that partisan‐ideological sorting also occurs in response to citizens’ religious affinities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion and Partisan‐Ideological Sorting, 1984–2016*

Davis

2018

Social Science Quarterly

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Objective This article explores how religion affects the extent to which individuals connect their ideological to partisan identities—a process termed partisan‐ideological sorting. Method To explore this relationship, I analyze data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) Time‐Series surveys and the Youth‐Parent Socialization (YPS) panel study. Results I find that a matrix of belief, belonging, and behavior constrains the convergence between citizens’ political identities, with one important caveat: evangelical affiliation functions as the primary conduit through which religiosity shapes this sorting. Building on these results, I then estimate the direct impact of religion on sorting over time. Conclusion These findings show that religion has produced asymmetric sorting in the mass public among persons with right‐leaning identities. Further, they provide a social explanation for partisan‐ideological sorting that complements extant institutional ones.

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“…Finally, changes to information technology—from digital media, to 24‐hour news channels, and social media—may facilitate sorting. For instance, Levendusky () and Davis and Dunaway () draw upon changes to the media landscape, demonstrating that sorting is more likely to occur in contexts with greater media choice. In these contexts, voters are more likely to self‐select into ideological echo chambers (Davis & Dunaway, ; Levendusky, ).…”

Section: The Dynamics Of Sortingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, Levendusky () and Davis and Dunaway () draw upon changes to the media landscape, demonstrating that sorting is more likely to occur in contexts with greater media choice. In these contexts, voters are more likely to self‐select into ideological echo chambers (Davis & Dunaway, ; Levendusky, ). Similarly, ideologically homogeneous social settings (Klar, ) and social media environments (Klar & Shmargad, ) facilitate a greater alignment between partisanship and ideological belief.…”

Section: The Dynamics Of Sortingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Psychological Foundations of Ideological and Social Sorting

Weber

Klar

2019

Political Psychology

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Americans are sorting ideologically: Liberals and conservatives are more likely to respectively identify as Democrats and Republicans. They are sorting socially as well: Partisans like and trust copartisans more than opposing partisans. Existing explanations for these phenomena rely on exogenous factors, such as elite polarization. But exogenous explanations cannot fully explain variation in sorting. We argue that psychological characteristics can help explain the tendency to sort ideologically or socially. Specifically, we investigate an individual's responsiveness to internal values versus normative social pressures as a determinant of sorting. We test this theory with several nationally representative surveys, as well as one survey experiment, and find strong support that an individual's own tendency to respond to social cues, as opposed to ideological values, has important consequences for this process. Our work allows for a better understanding of the psychological factors that promote partisan sorting and for interpreting variation in the degree to which citizens sort into partisan groups.

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Party Polarization, Media Choice, and Mass Partisan-Ideological Sorting

Cited by 89 publications

References 38 publications

Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

Religion and Partisan‐Ideological Sorting, 1984–2016*

Exploring the Psychological Foundations of Ideological and Social Sorting

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