The Mechanisms of Motivation: Examining the Implications and Realization of Several Mechanisms of Motivated Reasoning Theory

• Other Authors: Flanders, William D. (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Political science
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_2016SP_FlandersIV_fsu_0071E_13015

In this dissertation, I attempt to answer the question, what are the important factors that predict whether or not people will learn political facts? I make the case that two mechanisms of motivated reasoning theory—confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias—have different implications for our understanding of the rationality of the general public. I argue that factual information is far more difficult to refute than the sort of opinion information that has often been studied in political and social psychology. Consequently, differences in knowledge on these questions should be better explained by differences in information exposure (confirmation bias) rather than differences in the conscious or subconscious acceptance of encountered information. Using laboratory and cross-sectional data, I test the components and implications of this theory. Across three studies, I show that people are willing to update their beliefs about counter-attitudinal facts when they encounter them, and that differences in the media content of one's information environment are far more predictive of knowledge than is partisanship. I also show that people's default factual beliefs in the absence of information are quite ephemeral and are readily changed when more certain information is provided. In totality, this dissertation adds to our understanding of the way that the mechanisms of motivated reasoning theory apply on questions of fact and offers a somewhat hopeful message for proponents of public rationality. === A Dissertation submitted to the in partial fulfillment of the in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. === Fall Semester 2015. === December 10, 2015. === Bayesian Updating, Belief Change, Motivated Reasoning, Political Psychology === Includes bibliographical references. === Brad Gomez, Professor Directing Dissertation; Laura Arpan, University Representative; Robert Jackson, Committee Member; Matt Pietryka, Committee Member.