Polarization and Partisan Selective Exposure

Abstract

Today, people can easily select media outlets sharing their political predispositions, a behavior known as partisan selective exposure. Additional research is needed, however, to better understand the causes and consequences of partisan selective exposure. This study investigates the relationship between partisan selective exposure and political polarization using data from the National Annenberg Election Survey. Cross-sectional results show strong evidence that partisan selective exposure is related to polarization. Over-time analyses document that partisan selective exposure leads to polarization. Some evidence supports the reverse causal direction, namely that polarization leads to partisan selective exposure. Implications for the study of media effects and normative implications-both positive and negative-are discussed.

News With an Attitude: Assessing the Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Opinionated News

“…Previous work, however, has yielded ambiguous findings with regard to this (Arceneaux, Johnson, & Murphy, 2012;Prior, 2013;Stroud, 2010). Furthermore, there are concerns about the internal and external validity of these findings, as well as a lack of knowledge about the mechanisms underlying these effects.…”

“…Under normal circumstances, however, it seems most likely to find a positive total effect of opinionated news (e.g., DellaVigna & Kaplan, 2007;Smith & Searles, 2012;Stroud, 2010). After all, people tend to select news coverage that is congruent with their political views (Coe et al, 2008;Iyengar & Hahn, 2009;Morris, 2005).…”

“…Under normal circumstances, opinionated news therefore confirms and reinforces political attitudes (Barker & Lawrence, 2006;DellaVigna & Kaplan, 2007;Druckman & Parkin, 2005;Holbert, 2004;Jamieson & Cappella, 2008;D. A. Jones, 2002;Morris & Francia, 2010;Smith & Searles, 2012;Stroud, 2010).…”

“…In experiments with randomized exposure, opinionated news has however been shown to affect the attitudes of opposing groups similarly for topics that seemingly are not very important (Feldman, 2011a;Stroud, 2010). When a topic, by contrast, is thought to be important and recipients are motivated to invest cognitive effort, opinionated news seems to reinforce the attitudes of those with political preferences congruent with this news, but evoke counterarguing and boomerang effects for people who hold incongruent views (Arceneaux, Johnson, & Cryderman, 2013;Jamieson & Cappella, 2008;Levendusky, 2013;Meirick, 2013;Taber & Lodge, 2006).…”

Digital Media and Perceptions of Source Credibility in Political Communication

“…Stroud (2010), for example, found evidence that repeated selective exposure to attitude-consistent information resulted in increased polarization over time, and Huckfeldt and colleagues (2004) show that attitude-confirming information in one's social network results in being more critical of out-group members with dissimilar opinions (see also Sunstein, 2001Sunstein, , 2009. At the societal level, this type of attitude can result in "cyberbalkanization," or social segregation that results from a number of self-interested subgroups, each of which promotes its own interests to the exclusion of other groups' views (Putnam, 2000;Sunstein, 2001).…”