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Why Motivations Matter: Information-Processing Goals and Their Implications for Selective Exposure to Political Information

Carnahan, Dustin
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9144-9978
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1427123218

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
Selective exposure to political information – defined as the tendency of citizens to seek out information sources with which they are likely to agree and avoid those with which they are likely to disagree – has been identified by scholars and pundits alike as one of the biggest threats to civic engagement in American society. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about what factors are likely to promote selectivity, and studies into the consequences of selective exposure have yielded only mixed findings regarding its effects on attitude polarization and intolerance. This dissertation attempts to improve understanding in each of these areas by accounting for the role of motivation, which should not only influence which sources one prefers but also has implications for what outcomes should result from information exposure. First, an alternative theoretical framework is presented that establishes the role of motivation as both a driving force in political information preferences and a moderator in the relationship between information exposure and political attitudes. This approach is then tested using both originally-collected survey data and a novel survey experimental approach. The results of the study demonstrate that while motivations do not have a definitive impact on political information-seeking behavior, motivations are indeed influential in shaping the attitudinal outcomes from exposure to political information – sometimes in counter-intuitive ways.
Thomas Nelson (Committee Chair)
Kathleen McGraw (Committee Member)
R. Kelly Garrett (Committee Member)
202 p.
Communication; Political Science
selective exposure; polarization; motivated reasoning; public opinion; news

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Carnahan, D. (2015). Why Motivations Matter: Information-Processing Goals and Their Implications for Selective Exposure to Political Information [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1427123218

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Carnahan, Dustin. Why Motivations Matter: Information-Processing Goals and Their Implications for Selective Exposure to Political Information. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1427123218.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Carnahan, Dustin. "Why Motivations Matter: Information-Processing Goals and Their Implications for Selective Exposure to Political Information." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1427123218

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1427123218
335
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.