This study examines partisan gaps in politically relevant facts using experiments with incentives.
Data & Methods:
* Experiments offered financial rewards for accurate survey answers;
* Respondents could search for information before responding;
* Compared results to web-browsing data from the same people.
Key Findings:
* Information divides are inflated by partisan cheerleading;
* However, these divides persist even with incentives and in natural settings (web browsing);
* Sincere motivated reasoning explains belief adoption across contexts.
Why It Matters:
Our results clarify the role of incentives versus genuine information-seeking preferences. They support the view that inaccurate partisan beliefs are driven by a preference for congruent evidence, indicating deep-rooted motivated reasoning rather than just manipulation.
| Partisan Gaps in Political Information and Information-seeking Behavior: Motivated Reasoning or Cheerleading? was authored by Erik Peterson and Shanto Iyengar. It was published by Wiley in AJPS in 2021. |
