Self-Interest and Attention to News Among Issue Publics

Bolsen, Toby; Leeper, Thomas J.

doi:10.1080/10584609.2012.737428

Cited by 65 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…An increasingly diverse and fragmented political environment encourages people to engage with and be attentive to some issues, but not others (Bennett, 2012;Bennett & Iyengar, 2008;Converse, 1964). As a result, people attend to issues in which they have an interest or that affect them personally (Bolsen & Leeper, 2013;Price et al, 2006). Further, although general interest in politics can predict issue-specific engagement, interest in the specific issue matters more (Price et al, 2006).…”

Section: General Vs Issue-specific Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Issue-Specific Engagement: How Facebook Contributes to Opinion Leadership and Efficacy on Energy and Climate Issues

Vraga

Anderson

Kotcher

et al. 2015

Journal of Information Technology & Politics

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Although social media are increasingly studied for their political impact, not enough is known about how distinct forms of Facebook activity, such as general news consumption and expression vs. issue-specific engagement, explain orientations toward a particular issue. Using a Republican sample, we demonstrate that only issue-specific engagement on Facebook-and not other forms of online behaviors-is consistently associated with a greater sense of personal influence on the issue of climate change and energy, which suggests that distinguishing between types of Facebook activity is important.

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Section: General Vs Issue-specific Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Issue-Specific Engagement: How Facebook Contributes to Opinion Leadership and Efficacy on Energy and Climate Issues

Vraga

Anderson

Kotcher

et al. 2015

Journal of Information Technology & Politics

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“…A key source of issue importance is self-interest and whether people think an issue directly impacts their lives (Anand and Krosnick 2003;Boninger et al 1995;Krosnick et al 1994). Self-interest develops when people ''expect [an object or issue] to have significant consequences for their own lives'' (Apsler and Sears 1968, p. 162), and when an individual thinks that an issue has a clear and direct impact on his or her rights, privileges, or lifestyle (Bolsen and Leeper 2013;Krosnick 1990). Thus, I aim to convince people that how the issue is handled will have (or not have) direct effects on their daily lives.…”

Section: Sample and Stimulimentioning

confidence: 98%

Partisanship and Preference Formation: Competing Motivations, Elite Polarization, and Issue Importance

Mullinix

2015

Polit Behav

105

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An enduring and increasingly acute concern-in an age of polarized parties-is that people's partisan attachments distort preference formation at the expense of relevant information. For example, research suggests that a Democrat may support a policy proposed by Democrats, but oppose the same policy if proposed by Republicans. However, a related body of literature suggests that how people respond to information and form preferences is distorted by their prior issue attitudes. In neither instance is information even-handedly evaluated, rather, it is interpreted in light of partisanship or existing issue opinions. Both effects are well documented in isolation, but in most political scenarios individuals consider both partisanship and prior opinions-yet, these dynamics may or may not pull toward the same preference. Using nationally representative experiments focused on tax and education policies, I introduce and test a theory that isolates when: partisanship dominates preference formation, partisanship and issue opinions reinforce or offset each other, and issue attitudes trump partisanship. The findings make clear that the public does not blindly follow party elites. Depending on elite positions, the level of partisan polarization, and personal importance of issues, the public can be attentive to information and shirk the influence of party elites. The results have broad implications for political parties and citizen competence in contemporary democratic politics.

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“…Voters who consider an issue important are generally more attentive to coverage of it (Bolsen and Leeper 2013;Chen 2013;Krosnick 1990;Popkin 1991). Firstly, information concerning the issue has high informative utility.…”

Section: Media Attention As a Determinant Of Campaign Exposurementioning

confidence: 98%