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Discounting constituent attitudes: motivated reasoning, ambiguity, and policymaker perceptions of constituent characteristics.
- Source :
-
Human Communication Research . Jan2024, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p53-65. 13p. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- In experimental work, researchers have found that policymakers discount the opinions of constituents with whom they disagree. We build on these results with a national sample of local policymakers in the United States, exploring whether communicators can prevent policymakers from discounting their opinions by providing evidence of their own knowledge about a topic. We find that policymakers discount the opinions of hypothetical constituents with whom they disagree, but there is evidence that providing unambiguous evidence about a letter-writer's positive traits can reduce this discounting. We conclude with a discussion of implications for theory as well as practical implications for communicating with policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *EXPERT evidence
*AMBIGUITY
*RESEARCH personnel
*ATTITUDE (Psychology)
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03603989
- Volume :
- 50
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Human Communication Research
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 174444608
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqad047