Abstract
A large body of work shows that reasoning motivated by partisan cues and prior attitudes leads to unreflective decisions and disparities in empirical beliefs across groups. Surprisingly little research, however, has tested the limits of motivated reasoning. We argue that the publicly circulated findings of deliberative minipublics can spark a more reflective motivation in voters when these bodies provide policy-relevant factual information. To test that proposition, we conducted a survey experiment using information generated by one such minipublic during an election. Results showed that exposure to the minipublic's findings improved the accuracy of voters' empirical beliefs regarding a ballot proposition on the regulation of genetically modified seeds. This treatment effect transcended voters' partisan identities and prior environmental attitudes. In some instances, the respondents showing the greatest knowledge gains were those who a directional motivated-reasoning account would have expected to resist the treatment most effectively, owing to party identity or prior attitudes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 107-127 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Political Psychology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 2020 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Social Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Philosophy
- Sociology and Political Science
- Political Science and International Relations
Cite this
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Tracing the Boundaries of Motivated Reasoning : How Deliberative Minipublics Can Improve Voter Knowledge. / Már, Kristinn; Gastil, John.
In: Political Psychology, Vol. 41, No. 1, 01.02.2020, p. 107-127.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Tracing the Boundaries of Motivated Reasoning
T2 - How Deliberative Minipublics Can Improve Voter Knowledge
AU - Már, Kristinn
AU - Gastil, John
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - A large body of work shows that reasoning motivated by partisan cues and prior attitudes leads to unreflective decisions and disparities in empirical beliefs across groups. Surprisingly little research, however, has tested the limits of motivated reasoning. We argue that the publicly circulated findings of deliberative minipublics can spark a more reflective motivation in voters when these bodies provide policy-relevant factual information. To test that proposition, we conducted a survey experiment using information generated by one such minipublic during an election. Results showed that exposure to the minipublic's findings improved the accuracy of voters' empirical beliefs regarding a ballot proposition on the regulation of genetically modified seeds. This treatment effect transcended voters' partisan identities and prior environmental attitudes. In some instances, the respondents showing the greatest knowledge gains were those who a directional motivated-reasoning account would have expected to resist the treatment most effectively, owing to party identity or prior attitudes.
AB - A large body of work shows that reasoning motivated by partisan cues and prior attitudes leads to unreflective decisions and disparities in empirical beliefs across groups. Surprisingly little research, however, has tested the limits of motivated reasoning. We argue that the publicly circulated findings of deliberative minipublics can spark a more reflective motivation in voters when these bodies provide policy-relevant factual information. To test that proposition, we conducted a survey experiment using information generated by one such minipublic during an election. Results showed that exposure to the minipublic's findings improved the accuracy of voters' empirical beliefs regarding a ballot proposition on the regulation of genetically modified seeds. This treatment effect transcended voters' partisan identities and prior environmental attitudes. In some instances, the respondents showing the greatest knowledge gains were those who a directional motivated-reasoning account would have expected to resist the treatment most effectively, owing to party identity or prior attitudes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065670412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85065670412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/pops.12591
DO - 10.1111/pops.12591
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85065670412
VL - 41
SP - 107
EP - 127
JO - Political Psychology
JF - Political Psychology
SN - 0162-895X
IS - 1
ER -