Fearful Conservatives, Angry Liberals: Information Processing Related to the 2016 Presidential Election and Climate Change

In: Journalism & mass communication quarterly: JMCQ, Band 96, Heft 3, S. 742-766

Abstract

This study focuses on motivators of information processing during the 2016 U.S. presidential election cycle in relation to two specific topics—the election itself and the issue of climate change. We conducted two national surveys based on the risk information seeking and processing model (RISP) in October 2016, about a month before Election Day. Results indicate that political ideology is an important determinant of people's motivations for information processing related to both topics. These findings attest to the utility of the RISP model in explicating information processing behaviors beyond environmental and health risk issues.