Dissertation
When Losing Matters: an Analysis into the Dynamics of Affective Polarization Through Emotions and Media Choice in Politics
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005389
Abstract
Today, there is a divide between Democrats and Republicans that is based on negative attitudes towards the other party and its partisans. This is defined as affective polarization, which has been rising in recent decades. Given that affective polarization can have political consequences, understanding this rise is important for democratic governance. Some have pointed to the proliferation of partisan news media to explain the rise of this polarization. Although we know that media can influence partisan attitudes and lead to polarization, there is still debate about when and how partisans will be motivated to consume both pro- and counter-attitudinal news sources.To that end, I ask when partisans will be motivated to tune into the media and accept its messages. I argue that to truly understand this mechanism, we need to incorporate emotions into it. Depending on the direction of emotional reactions to political events, partisans will be motivated to choose a certain media outlet to regulate these emotional reactions. Emotions will be the defining factor in terms of whether partisan viewers will expose themselves to pro- and counter attitudinal news media. As they experience more negative emotions and choose to consume more pro-attitudinal media outlets, affective polarization will increase.
To test my claims, I take a mixed-method approach. I first analyze existing datasets to explore the relationship between affective polarization, media choice and emotions. Next, I carry out a survey experiment and a weekly survey to illustrate how and when emotional reactions to political events are likely to motivate partisans to accept the messages of news media and affectively polarize. Finally, I interview partisans to better understand motivations behind news media choice and investigate the influence of different types of events on partisans’ emotional reactions.
Based on my analysis, I find substantial support for my theory. Partisans do have emotional reactions to political events that do influence their media choices. Moreover, pro-attitudinal media choices can lead to affective polarization, if partisans react negatively to political events. Overall, this research shows the importance of considering the role of emotions in politics, particularly when thinking about partisan media choice and affective polarization.
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Details
- Title
- When Losing Matters
- Creators
- Furkan Cakmak
- Contributors
- Travis N Ridout (Advisor)Martha Cottam (Committee Member)Michael F Salamone (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 315
- Identifiers
- 99901031241001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation