Existing studies reveal that survey respondents are sensitive to
information sources regarding political corruption. This sensitivity appears stronger among politically sophisticated citizens.
In a nationwide survey across Argentina, we successfully replicate findings initially observed in Brazil, suggesting robustness of these results beyond specific contexts. Moreover, this research investigates whether partisan identity influences how citizens process information about corruption origins.
* Data & Methods: Nationwide survey replicating prior cross-national work;
investigation across diverse citizen types (copartisans, opposition partisans,
non-partisans).
Key Findings:* Contrary to expectations, all groups (regardless of sophistication or partisan identity) show similar responsiveness to credible corruption information. Citizens uniformly demonstrate awareness and weighting based on source credibility. This finding challenges the notion that political sophistication is necessary for
source evaluation regarding corruption.
* Why It Matters: Demonstrates widespread sensitivity to information quality even about highly politicized topics like corruption. The results highlight a consistent citizen behavior across different political identities, simplifying previous models of information processing.
| Information Credibility and Responses to Corruption: A Replication and Extension in Argentina was authored by Matthew Winters and Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro. It was published by Cambridge in PSR&M in 2020. |
