POLI 100M: Poli-cal Psychology. Lecture 5: Media Taylor N.

Transcription

1 POLI 100M: Poli-cal Psychology Lecture 5: Media Taylor N.

2 Announcements A brief note on Short Assignment 1 Short Assignment 2 is due next -me any ques-ons? You can use one of your connec-ons from Short Assignment 1 or you can try something new If you use a connec-on from SA1, you should consider making revisions based on the feedback you received Midterm is a week from today. Study guide posted on TritonEd. 1 hour, 15 minutes to complete midterm (11am-12:15pm) 15 minute break Class will resume at 12:30 (12:30-1:50pm) Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30-4:30 in SSB 341, or by appointment

3 A brief note on thesis statements A thesis statement is the sentence that states the main idea of a wri-ng assignment and helps control the ideas within the paper. It ozen reflects an opinion, judgment, or argument that a writer has made about the topic of the paper

4 A Strong Thesis Statement Gives direc-on to the paper and limits what you need to write about Requires proof support your statement with detailed suppor-ng evidence to mo-vate the readers to con-nue reading the paper Men-ons your suppor-ng points

5 Tips for Wri-ng Thesis Statements Know the topic (while this is not a research assignment, you may want to thoroughly study your notes on the topic and you are welcome to do addi-onal research) Limit your topic (narrow is beaer for a short paper) Brainstorm Determine what kind of paper you re wri-ng: Analy-cal: breaks down an issue or idea into component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown / evalua-on to the reader Explanatory: explains something to the reader Argumenta-ve: makes a claim about a topic and jus-fies this claim with specific evidence.

6 Example Thesis Statements John Updike s Trust Me is a valuable novel for a college syllabus because it allows the reader to become familiar with his wri-ng and provides themes that are easily connected to other works. Source: haps://gustavus.edu/wri-ngcenter/handoutdocs/ thesis_statements.php

7 Example Thesis Statements Analy-cal: An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge facing counselors: accep-ng students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds. Source: haps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

8 Example Thesis Statements Explanatory: The life of the typical college student is characterized by -me spent studying, aaending class, and socializing with peers. Source: haps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

9 Example Thesis Statements Argumenta-ve: High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness. Source: haps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

10 Ques-ons?

11 Last Time How do individuals process poli-cal informa-on? Aaribu-on theory, consistency theory, lots of biases! Confirma-on bias, nega-vity bias, fundamental aaribu-on error, etc. We use cogni-ve tricks to filter informa-on, which can lead to errors in judgment Belief in misinforma-on Largely driven by mo-vated reasoning Backfire effects! Really hard to correct misinforma-on Do we have enough informa-on to vote ra-onally? Heuris-cs! (Party ID, Ideology, endorsements, viability, traits, etc.) Help a lot, but might mostly help the people who need it the least

12 What ques-ons do you have?

13 Today: Driving Ques-ons Why do individuals choose informa-on sources? What role does the media play in shaping public opinion? How do individuals process informa-on from the media?

14 Today: Learning Outcomes Define the following key terms: framing effects, priming, selec-ve exposure. Explain how these concepts relate to how individuals engage with informa-on from the media. Explain the paaerns in media source selec-on Evaluate whether the media is able to impact public opinion

15 Media Use in the U.S.

16 Source: American Press Ins-tute, 2014

17 Source: American Press Ins-tute, 2014

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20 The boaom line Overall, we re lazy Overall, we re not that interested in the news Overall, we get more informa-on online, but there are tons of op-ons out there Overall, we trust informa-on from some sources more than others, especially if they re perceived to share similar views

21 How does the media influence poli-cal aotudes? Media bias Framing Priming

22 Percep-ons of Media Bias

23 How would you arrange these news outlets from liberal to conserva-ve? BBC News Breitbart News Network Chicago Tribune CNN News Daily Kos Fox News Huffington Post Los Angeles Times NBC News New York Times Reuters USA Today Wall Street Journal Washington Post Yahoo News

24 Source: Budak, Goel, and Rao (2016)

25 Hos-le Media Effect Individuals perceive media counter to their preferences as more biased than media that supports their preferences

26 Hos-le Media Effect Cogni-ve Factors: Selec-ve Recall Selec-ve Percep-on Mo-vated Reasoning Source Factors Individual Factors Stronger opinions Involvement Stronger iden-ty (social iden-ty theory)

27 (Rela-ve) Hos-le Media Effect Individuals with different aotudes toward the issue have very different evalua-ons of the same media content even if that media content is biased

28 Media Bias Gatekeeping: the media outlet decides which stories will be communicated. New perspec-ves or par-cular issues can go unreported à Status Quo Bias Examples?

29 Media Bias Coverage Bias: How much -me or space is devoted to a par-cular story, resul-ng in more/less aaen-on to a story. Examples?

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31 Media Bias Statement Bias: A member of the media inserts his or her own views in the repor-ng of a story. Examples?

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34 Which biases do you see in the next images?

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37 Framing Framing: The process by which people develop a par-cular conceptualiza-on of an issue or reorient their thinking about an issue Framing Effect: When (ozen small) changes in the presenta-on of an issue or an event produce (some-mes large) changes of opinion

38 Examples of Framing Effects

39 Merolla et al. (2013): Immigra-on If we can seal our borders and enforce exis-ng immigra-on laws, [illegal/undocumented/unauthorized] immigrants should be given [the opportunity to eventually become legal ci-zens/amnesty]. [Illegal/undocumented/unauthorized] immigrants [none/ who came to the US as young children] should be able to earn legal status if they graduated from a US high school, have stayed out of trouble, and have enrolled in college or the military. According to [current law/the Cons-tu-on] any child born in the US is a ci-zen of the US. The [current law/ Cons-tu-on] should be changed so that babies born to [illegal/undocumented/unauthorized] immigrants living in the US do not automa-cally become US ci-zens.

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42 Iyengar (1987): Poverty Na-onal poverty: news story about the increase in poverty na-onwide and the significant reduc-ons in the scope of federal social welfare programs High unemployment: news story that juxtaposed the na-onal unemployment rate with the size of the federal budget deficit Vic-ms of economic hardship High cost of heat: two families unable to pay their hea-ng bills Homeless: two black teenagers living on the streets of NYC and a white couple forced to live in their car in San Diego Unemployed worker: financial difficul-es facing the family of an unemployed auto worker in Ohio

43 Source: Lajevardi working paper

44 How does framing work? Accessibility Model: Framing depends on the individual and aaen-on to the issue. Preexis-ng views are made more accessible. Importance Change Model: Frames make some considera-ons more important than others.

45 How does framing work? In order for a framing effect to occur, a given considera-on needs to be: Stored in memory Accessible Regular or recent exposure Passive or unconscious process Strong frames Availability Accessibility Applicability

46 How does framing work? Moderators: variables that condi-on the effects [of framing] Individual Predisposi-ons: Strong values, strong prior aotudes = less suscep-ble to framing effects Increased resistance to disconfirming informa-on Perceived Applicability: frames delivered by credible sources are more likely to shiz opinions Exposure to Delibera-on or people holding varying opinions can mute framing effects

47 Priming

48 Priming Priming: a nonconscious form of human memory concerned with perceptual iden-fica-on of words and objects. Refers to ac-va-ng par-cular representa-ons or associa-ons in memory just before carrying out an ac-on or task. Priming effects: Occur when the men-on of a specific considera-on in one context (the prime) increases the accessibility of that considera-on, leading to an increase in the use of that trait in later evalua-ons of a social target

49 How does priming work? Individuals sa,sfice: make a decision that is adequate rather than op-mally based upon full considera-on of all relevant informa-on (Miller & Krosnick 1996) Accessibility Availability

50 How does the media prime?

51 The Priming Hypothesis The more aaen-on campaigns and the media pay to a par-cular aspect of poli-cal life, the more ci-zens will rely on that considera-on in their poli-cal evalua-ons (Iyengar & Kinder 1987) Examples?

52 Examples Priming individuals to think about collec-ve responsibility for climate change causes more dona-ons to climate efforts than priming individuals to think about individual responsibility or a control prime (daily rou-ne) (Obradovich & Guenther 2016) Priming Canadians with images of President Obama instead of President Bush increased posi-ve evalua-ons of the United States (Dragojlovic 2011) Issues the media emphasizes are more likely to be used in evalua-ng candidates (Druckman 2004)

53 Applying Framing and Priming