The effects of ideology and cognitive reflection on evidence gathering behavior in the political domain.

ABSTRACT: This paper explores individual-level standards of evidence in the political domain. In particular, we examine why people rely on different types of evidence in their evaluations of causal claims. Our empirical analysis is based on original survey data collected in August 2023. We conducted a demographically diverse online survey in the U.S in which we asked respondents to evaluate the effectiveness of a new policy initiative (cash bail reform). The survey offered subjects different pieces of information to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Among other things, people could view: (a) The number of instances in which cities have/ have NOT been exposed to the policy intervention as well as observed societal outcomes for each case group; (b) Evaluations provided by in-group and ou

SUBMITTER: Justwan F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12671747 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature