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A Source of Bias in Public Opinion Stability

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  • DRUCKMAN, JAMES N.
  • FEIN, JORDAN
  • LEEPER, THOMAS J.

Abstract

A long acknowledged but seldom addressed problem with political communication experiments concerns the use of captive participants. Study participants rarely have the opportunity to choose information themselves, instead receiving whatever information the experimenter provides. We relax this assumption in the context of an over-time framing experiment focused on opinions about health care policy. Our results dramatically deviate from extant understandings of over-time communication effects. Allowing individuals to choose information themselves—a common situation on many political issues—leads to the preeminence of early frames and the rejection of later frames. Instead of opinion decay, we find dogmatic adherence to opinions formed in response to the first frame to which participants were exposed (i.e., staunch opinion stability). The effects match those that occur when early frames are repeated multiple times. The results suggest that opinion stability may often reflect biased information seeking. Moreover, the findings have implications for a range of topics including the micro–macro disconnect in studies of public opinion, political polarization, normative evaluations of public opinion, the role of inequality considerations in the debate about health care, and, perhaps most importantly, the design of experimental studies of public opinion.

Suggested Citation

  • Druckman, James N. & Fein, Jordan & Leeper, Thomas J., 2012. "A Source of Bias in Public Opinion Stability," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 106(2), pages 430-454, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:106:y:2012:i:02:p:430-454_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Dharshing, Samdruk & Hille, Stefanie Lena & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2017. "The Influence of Political Orientation on the Strength and Temporal Persistence of Policy Framing Effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 295-305.
    2. Aaron Deslatte, 2020. "To shop or shelter? Issue framing effects and social-distancing preferences in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 3(1).
    3. Low, Nicholas Kah Yean & Melatos, Andrew, 2022. "Discerning media bias within a network of political allies and opponents: The idealized example of a biased coin," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 590(C).
    4. Hawkins, Christopher V. & Chia-Yuan, Yu, 2018. "Voter support for environmental bond referenda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 193-200.
    5. Thomas J. Leeper, 2016. "How does treatment self-selection affect inferences about political communication?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67604, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Low, Nicholas Kah Yean & Melatos, Andrew, 2022. "Vacillating about media bias: Changing one’s mind intermittently within a network of political allies and opponents," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 604(C).
    7. Davide Morisi, 2014. "Shaping voting intentions: An experimental study on the role of information in the Scottish independence referendum," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers p0403, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    8. Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz & Otto Eibl, 2022. "A rather wild imagination: who is and who is not a migrant in the Czech media and society?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Simon Schaub, 2021. "Public contestation over agricultural pollution: a discourse network analysis on narrative strategies in the policy process," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(4), pages 783-821, December.
    10. Jensen, Carsten & Naumann, Elias, 2016. "Increasing pressures and support for public healthcare in Europe," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(6), pages 698-705.

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