Selective exposure to partisan media feeds hostility. This stems from negative stereotypes partisans hold about out-party content.
Data & Methods: Researchers used survey-linked web browsing data and conducted three experimental studies (RCTs, RDD).
Key Findings: Survey experiments show that simply exposing people to nonpolitical stories reduces their animosity toward opposing news sources.
Why It Matters: This reveals how partisan media perceptions persist despite minimal actual content differences between outlets.
| When Unfamiliarity Breeds Contempt: How Partisan Selective Exposure Sustains Oppositional Media Hostility was authored by Erik Peterson and Ali Kagalwala. It was published by Cambridge in APSR in 2021. |
