Reinforcement of the Political Self Through Selective Exposure to Political Messages
2011/04/01 by Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Silvia Knobloch‐Westerwick, Jingbo Meng · 255 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Advertising #Attitude change #Business #Law #Media Studies and Communication #Perception #Political science #Politics #Psychology #Reinforcement #Session (web analytics) #Social Media and Politics #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Social psychology #Viewpoints
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01543.x
published in Journal of Communication 61(2), 349-368 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2011/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Abstract
The idea that recipients prefer messages that reinforce preexisting attitudes and self-perceptions has pervaded much communication research, but effects of selective exposure are rarely examined. This 2-session experiment (n = 157) investigates such effects. The first session presented computerized questions on 12 political issue attitudes and political self-concept. Accessibility data were collected based on response times. In the second session, participants browsed through an online magazine including 4 of the 12 issues, each issue being covered by 2 articles featuring opposing viewpoints. Selective exposure was logged and categorized as attitude-consistent or counterattitudinal. Finally, a questionnaire repeated measures for attitudes and self-concept. The results show that participants preferred attitude-consistent over counterattitudinal messages, which strengthened the political self-concept through increased accessibility.
Citations
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