There was substantial variation in the actual news usage habits of individuals who reported identical media preferences, suggesting that survey-based steps might not totally catch the variance in people experiences. Additionally, people with divergent media choices in the survey typically checked out comparable online news outlets. These findings challenge typical presumptions about the polarized nature of Americans media habits and raise concerns about the use of study data when studying the results of political media.
Some scholars think existing polarization produces extremely partisan media intake; others believe partisan media sources affect people to adopt more polarized views. When they looked at the political slant of individuals news usage, the authors observed a striking however small discrepancy in between their study and behavioral measures of media preferences.
MIT researchers discovered that individualss reported media preferences frequently differ from their real online news consumption, questioning common beliefs about the polarized nature of American media routines. By taking a look at both survey responses and web-browsing information, the research study reveals that the level of medias impact on political views is carefully connected to how preferences are measured, with real-world information providing important insights into political polarization.
Partisan media may deepen political polarization, however we must determine individualss media habits more thoroughly before reasoning, scientists say.
In a polarized nation, how much does the media affect individualss political views? A brand-new research study co-authored by MIT scholars discovers the response depends upon individualss media choices– and, crucially, how these preferences are determined.
The researchers integrated a big online survey try out web-tracking information that tape-recorded all of the news sites participants checked out in the month before the research study. They discovered that the media preferences individuals reported in the survey normally mirrored their real-world news consumption, however important distinctions stood apart.
First, there was significant variation in the actual news consumption habits of participants who reported identical media preferences, recommending that survey-based procedures might not completely record the variation in individuals experiences. Additionally, individuals with divergent media preferences in the study typically went to comparable online news outlets. These findings challenge typical presumptions about the polarized nature of Americans media routines and raise questions about making use of study data when studying the impacts of political media.
An experiment co-authored by MIT researchers reveals that individualss mentioned political news consumption does not always match what theyre actually viewing.
” Theres good factor to think that the information people report in studies may not be a best representation of their actual media habits,” says Chloe Wittenberg PhD 23, a postdoc in the MIT Department of Political Science and co-author of a brand-new paper detailing the outcomes.
The open-access paper, “Media Measurement Matters: Estimating the Persuasive Effects of Partisan Media with Survey and Behavioral Data,” appears in the Journal of Politics. The authors are Wittenberg; Matthew A. Baum, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School; Adam Berinsky, MITs Mitsui Professor of Political Science and director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab; Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, an assistant teacher of public law at the Harvard Kennedy School; and Teppei Yamamoto, a professor of political science and director of MITs Political Methodology Lab.
Stated vs. Revealed Preferences
The research study was motivated by a split within some academic research. Some scholars believe existing polarization produces extremely partisan media usage; others think partisan media sources influence people to embrace more polarized views. But couple of have actually measured both self-selection of media and its persuasive impacts at the same time– utilizing both survey and behavioral information.
To perform the experiment, the researchers contracted with the media analytics company comScore to hire a diverse sample of American adults in 2018. ComScore then integrated study actions from over 3,300 of these participants with in-depth details about their web-browsing history in the month prior to the research study.
” In this study, we adopted an unique experimental style called the Preference-Incorporating Choice and Assignment style– or the PICA style– which we created and obtained a formal analytical framework for in an earlier work,” Yamamoto says. “The PICA design was a best fit for the study, given its goals.”
In the very first part of the experiment, individuals were asked to report their media preferences, including the amount and type of news they like to check out. In the second part, participants were assigned to one of 2 groups. The first group could select which type of media– Fox News, MSNBC, or an entertainment option– they desired to check out, whereas the second group was needed to see articles from among these 3 sources. This method enabled the researchers to assess both how individuals mentioned choices in the survey compared to their online news consumption, and how persuasive partisan media can be to various sets of consumers.
Measurement Matters in Media Polarization Studies
Overall, the research study revealed differences in the persuasiveness of partisan media throughout news audiences. When examining the volume of news that participants taken in, the authors discovered that individuals who normally checked out less news sites, relative to home entertainment websites, tended to be more readily persuaded by partisan media.
When they looked at the political slant of individuals news consumption, the authors observed a striking however small variance between their survey and behavioral steps of media preferences. At one end, the results based on survey data recommended that members of the public may be receptive to details from ideologically opposed sources. On the other hand, the outcomes based upon web-browsing information revealed that individuals with more extreme media diets are persuaded mainly by outlets with which they currently agree.
” Together, these results recommend that reasonings about media polarization may depend greatly on how people media preferences are measured,” the authors state in the paper.
” Our outcomes affirm the worth of harnessing real-world data to study political media,” adds de Benedictis-Kessner. “Precise measurement of peoples behavior in online news environments is hard, however it is essential to confront these measurement difficulties due to the different conclusions that can arise about the dangers of political polarization.”
Extending the Research
For one, the existing study focused on offering media material associated to education policy, consisting of issues such as school choice and charter schools. It is possible that studies including other political concerns may reveal various dynamics.
” An interesting extension for this work would be to look at various problem areas, some of which might be more polarized than education,” Wittenberg says.
She includes: “I hope the field can approach evaluating a more comprehensive range of measures to see how they cohere, and I think theres going to be a lot of fascinating and actionable insights. Our objective is not to state, Here is an ideal step you must head out and utilize. Its to push people to consider how they are determining these preferences.”
Recommendation: “Media Measurement Matters: Estimating the Persuasive Effects of Partisan Media with Survey and Behavioral Data” by Chloe Wittenberg, Matthew A. Baum, Adam J. Berinsky, Justin de Benedictis-Kessner and Teppei Yamamoto, 29 August 2023, Journal of Politics.DOI: 10.1086/ 724960.
Support for the research study was offered by the National Science Foundation.