Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
Loading next page...
/lp/iospress/social-media-mixed-with-news-in-political-candidate-judgment-order-G12Ri8006g
- Publisher
- IOS Press
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2016 IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved
- ISSN
- 1570-1255
- eISSN
- 1875-8754
- DOI
- 10.3233/IP-160388
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
In the context of politics, emotions and facts work together to shapeopinions about political candidates. While there is considerable research onmotivated reasoning about political issues, there is less attention to howaffect and rationality combine in the hybrid world of new media. This studyexamined the interaction of social media comments about politicians withmore traditional information sources. Participants were exposed to politicalcandidates' Facebook news feeds, to news articles about the candidates, andto a political speech. The order of exposure was varied and measures of bothknowledge and emotion were taken. When social media was encountered beforenews about a political candidate, it influenced feelings toward thecandidate but did not influence personal mood or perceived knowledge. Incontrast, when social media was encountered before information unrelated tothe candidates, it negatively influenced all dependent measures. Thefindings are discussed in terms of motivated reasoning theories,Papacharissi's concept of ``affective publics,'' and the implications forcivic participation in the new media era.
Journal
Information Polity – IOS Press
Published: Jan 1, 2016