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Please Explain Yourself: Mechanisms of Opinion Improvement in Deliberative Forums

Felts, Nicholas A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1492555075881149

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
Public opinion is intended to hold a powerful place in American democracy. Yet, factors such as low political knowledge, low political interest, low political efficacy, and the limitations of individual information processing result in opinions that are of dubious quality. Ill-considered political attitudes are of little use to both citizens, as they attempt to make sense of the political world around them, and elected officials looking for guidance on matters of policy. Citizen-to-citizen public deliberation has been shown to have positive effects on those who participate including a beneficial impact on the quality of political attitudes. However, we still know very little about the mechanisms at play during public deliberation that allow for these effects. Using originally collected data from deliberative forums on higher education, this dissertation makes the case that two factors, present in public deliberation but absent from most political environments, help to explain why deliberation is able to improve the quality of individual opinions. Specifically, deliberation is able to improve the quality of political attitudes when participants hold each other accountable, through questioning, for the opinions that they espouse. Additionally, the quality of attitudes is improved when deliberative forums provide a sense of stakes or a clear sense that a person’s participation in a forum is connected to levers of political power.
Michael Neblo (Committee Chair)
188 p.
Political Science
public opinion in American democracy, opinion improvement in deliberative forums

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Felts, N. A. (2017). Please Explain Yourself: Mechanisms of Opinion Improvement in Deliberative Forums [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1492555075881149

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Felts, Nicholas. Please Explain Yourself: Mechanisms of Opinion Improvement in Deliberative Forums . 2017. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1492555075881149.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Felts, Nicholas. "Please Explain Yourself: Mechanisms of Opinion Improvement in Deliberative Forums ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1492555075881149

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1492555075881149
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.