Motivation, Media Choice, and Political Knowledge

Justin Holmes

There has been considerable speculation within the discipline of Political Science about the political ramifications of the rise of new communications technologies, particularly the internet. Of particular interest is the impact of the new technology on the democratic competence of citizens and their knowledge of politics. The internet has several features which lead to competing predictions about the impact on the public’s political knowledge. On the positive side, it provides a depth of content lacking in other media. The internet may allow citizens to become more competent than in the past by allowing them to look in greater depth at political issues. This serves as a possible remedy to the longstanding concern that contemporary political coverage is shallow and unenlightening. A second feature, the breadth of content available, has more mixed potential consequences. On the one hand, it allows citizens easier access to diverse points of view and coverage of topics that would otherwise be neglected in mainstream media outlets, enhancing citizen knowledge and competence. On the other hand, this breadth of information is not only political. It also allows for easy access to non political information as well, which may distract citizens from political content and undermine knowledge and competence. The purpose of this research project is to examine the impact of internet use on political knowledge. In particular, I will examine the interaction between type of media and several psychological traits (Need to Evaluate and Need for Cognition) which predict information seeking using data from the 2000 and 2004 National Election Studies. There are a number of potential effects here. It may be the case that the internet may raise everyone’s political knowledge. It is also possible that it will exacerbate preexisting gaps in knowledge by enhancing only the knowledge of highly motivated individuals. Finally, the increased level of choice may provide a distraction and actually undermine levels of political knowledge. These results are important for assessing the potential future of political knowledge and democratic citizenship, as ever more people rely on new media for news and political information.

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