Correcting misperceptions of partisan opponents is not effective at treating democratic ills.

ABSTRACT: Many warn that the United States is on the brink of democratic collapse, because partisan animosity, support for partisan violence, and support for undemocratic practices are on the rise. Quelling some fears, scholars have offered interventions that use messages to correct misperceptions about citizens' partisan opponents (the "out-party"). In this article, we provide evidence that the effects of these interventions are not as robust or consistent as hoped. First, we use panel data ( n=9,810 ) to show that perceptions of the out-party are highly variable. This suggests that these perceptions are weakly held and thus unlikely to be a significant cause of hostile attitudes. The oscillation of perceptions over time also suggests that, for many, any effect of corrections would likely be overwh

SUBMITTER: Dias NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11333104 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature