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The goal of this study is to theorize the relationship between the news and political polarization through a lens of group dynamics. Consistent with the salience hypothesis of the category fit and category accessibility interaction, we first articulate when and how news exposure makes news consumers think of themselves as Democrats or Republicans instead of unique individuals. Drawing on group polarization literature, we further hypothesize partisan self-stereotyping—an automatic reaction to partisan identity salience—as a mechanism behind the polarizing effect of partisan conflict-framed news. Two experimental studies provide a consistent pattern of support for our hypotheses. The implications of these findings were discussed in comparison with extant studies testing similar news effects under a different theoretical framework—namely, motivated reasoning.

This review considers the general nature of cognitive development theories. It describes a number of cognitive structures specified by various cognitive development theorists, discusses research investigating these structures, and presents research on children's responses to television and television advertising which has utilized the various structures. It also discusses some general implications of using the cognitive development approach for research on children's responses to television.

Objectives. Kids Voting USA is a program designed to educate schoolchildren about the democratic process and foster their political socialization. This article set out to explore the consequences of the Kids Voting program for political knowledge, knowledge gaps, and attitude‐behavior consistency.Methods. A sample of seventh and eighth graders in an urban school district were surveyed before (N=385) and shortly after (N=648) the 2000 general election.Results. Kids Voting exposure was positively related to political knowledge at Time 2 even after controlling for demographics, scholastic achievement, and attention to campaign news. There was no evidence that knowledge gaps widened between Time 1 and 2; in fact, African Americans and those with low initial knowledge gained the most. As political knowledge increased, party ID and issue attitudes became more predictive of candidate preference. Kids Voting exposure, too, was positively related to consistency between party ID and candidate preference, a relationship that was partially mediated by political knowledge.Conclusions. Political knowledge among these adolescents appeared to function much the way it does in adults: it equipped them to make political decisions that better reflected their attitudes. Kids Voting seems to contribute to this process, through knowledge and perhaps other avenues, without increasing knowledge gaps.

Objective. Kids Voting USA is a program designed to educate schoolchildren about the democratic process & foster their political socialization. This article set out to explore the consequences of the Kids Voting program for political knowledge, knowledge gaps, & attitude-behavior consistency. Methods. A sample of seventh & eighth graders in an urban school district were surveyed before (N=385) & shortly after (N=648) the 2000 general election. Results. Kids Voting exposure was positively related to political knowledge at Time 2 even after controlling for demographics, scholastic achievement, & attention to campaign news. There was no evidence that knowledge gaps widened between Time 1 & 2; in fact, African Americans & those with low initial knowledge gained the most. As political knowledge increased, party ID & issue attitudes became more predictive of candidate preference. Kids Voting exposure, too, was positively related to consistency between party ID & candidate preference, a relationship that was partially mediated by political knowledge. Conclusions. Political knowledge among these adolescents appeared to function much the way it does in adults: it equipped them to make political decisions that better reflected their attitudes. Kids Voting seems to contribute to this process, through knowledge & perhaps other avenues, without increasing knowledge gaps. 3 Tables, 2 Figures, 38 References. Adapted from the source document.

In recent American political discourse, elections and debates tend to be presented by the news media as collisions of basic principles, with opposing parties advancing beliefs about what is right and what is wrong. When news coverage of an election campaign focuses on issues that emphasize rights and morals, voting behavior may be affected in two ways: Citizens become likely to form and make use of evaluations of the integrity of the candidates, and citizens become motivated to seek an issue‐position "match" with candidates on those issues for which discourse is ethically charged (particularly when they hold a similar interpretation of the issue). These ideas were tested in an experiment in which labor union members and undergraduate students were presented with news stories about the contrasting positions of fictional candidates for elective office. Across three political environments, all information was held constant except for systematic alteration of a different issue in each environment. These three issues (abortion, gun control, and health care) vary in the types of value conflicts emphasized in news coverage. The results shed light on how individuals process, interpret, and use issue coverage in choosing among candidates.

Investigates efficacy of media representations of issues in ethical & moral terms to prime voters to formulate opinions regarding candidate integrity & assess unrelated political issues in moral/ethical terms. Three hypotheses are examined: (1) Political environments that include a social-moral issue more frequently prompt individuals to formulate opinions regarding candidate integrity. (2) Environments that include an ambiguous ethical issue more frequently prompt individuals to formulate ethical explanations of material issues. (3) Individuals with highly integrated cognitive frameworks regarding the considered issues are more inclined to demonstrate spreading activation priming. Using controlled political environments, 172 members of evangelical Christian churches & 201 undergraduates in the Midwest read newspaper articles that discussed various moral & ethical issues; candidate gender, age, educational achievement, & occupational history were also provided. Participants selected a political candidate & provided explanations for their choice. Although findings indicate support for all three hypotheses, future research should examine how values affect political attitudes & utilize the exergetic power of political sophistication. 3 Tables, 4 Figures, 53 References. Adapted from the source document.