The psychology of media and politics

\* Discusses such issues as political advertising, polls, debates, and journalists' pursuit of scandal \* Describes why only some Americans turn out to vote in prominent elections.Research indicates that people discount their own opinions and experiences in favor of those of "experts" as espoused in the media. The framing of news coverage thus has a profound impact on public opinion, and political decision making as a response to public outcry. However, the choice of how to frame the news is typically made to solicit viewership and high ratings rather than to convey accurate and meaningful information. This book discusses why people discount their own opinions, how the media shapes the news, when this drives political decision making, and what the effect is on the future of society. Issues addressed include: \* How powerful are the media in shaping political beliefs/judgment? \* How has this power changed in recent years? \* How does media influence voting behavior? \* To what extent do media opinions affect political decision making? \* Demonstrates the ways in which the media both constrain and facilitate democratic participation \* Provides insight into why individuals have varying levels of attention to and interest in politics Research indicates that people discount their own opinions and experiences in favor of those of "experts" as espoused in the media. The framing of news coverage thus has a profound impact on public opinion, and political decision making as a response to public outcry. However, the choice of how to frame the news is typically made to solicit viewership and high ratings rather than to convey accurate and meaningful information. This book discusses why people discount their own opinions, how the media shapes the news, when this drives political decision making, and what the effect is on the future of society.

Issues addressed include:
* How powerful are the media in shaping political beliefs/judgment?
* How has this power changed in recent years?
* How does media influence voting behavior?
* To what extent do media opinions affect political decision making?

* Demonstrates the ways in which the media both constrain and facilitate democratic participation
* Provides insight into why individuals have varying levels of attention to and interest in politics
* Discusses such issues as political advertising, polls, debates, and journalists' pursuit of scandal
* Describes why only some Americans turn out to vote in prominent elections.
* Offers a model of personal- versus social-level influences that extends beyond politics into other important topic areas
* Brings together research and theories from the fields of Communication, Psychology, and Political Science
* Reviews hundreds of key sources, both historical and contemporary Research indicates that people discount their own opinions and experiences in favor of those of "experts" as espoused in the media. The framing of news coverage thus has a profound impact on public opinion, and political decision making as a response to public outcry. However, the choice of how to frame the news is typically made to solicit viewership and high ratings rather than to convey accurate and meaningful information. The Psychology of Media and Politics discusses why people discount their own opinions, how the media shapes the news, when this drives political decision making, and what the effect is on the future of society. Issues addressed include: How powerful are the media in shaping political beliefs/judgment? How has this power changed in recent years? How does media influence voting behavior? To what extent do media opinions affect political decision making? Demonstrates the ways in which the media both constrain and facilitate democratic participation Provides insight into why individuals have varying levels of attention to and interest in politics Discusses such issues as political advertising, polls, debates, and journalists' pursuit of scandal Describes why only some Americans turn out to vote in prominent elections Offers a model of personal- versus social-level influences that extends beyond politics into other important topic areas Brings together research and theories from the fields of Communication, Psychology, and Political Science Reviews hundreds of key sources, both historical and contemporary Content: Early Knowledge -- Conventional Wisdom -- The Third Person -- The Evidence -- Rationality -- Hindsight -- Central Elements -- Conformity -- Spiral of Silence -- Major Dimensions -- Polls and News Coverage -- Contingent Conditions -- Psychological Mechanism -- Sherif, Asch, and Milgram -- Paradigms -- Implementation -- Outcomes -- Personal Experience -- Political Socialization -- Party Allegiance -- Social Influence -- Issue Voting -- Three Propositions -- Necessary Corrections -- Ambiguities -- Misapplication -- A Closer Look -- A Contrast -- Asch -- Sherif -- A Difficult Case -- Rethinking the Personal -- Conceptualization -- Historical Changes -- Journalistic Practices -- Psychological Processes -- Our Intentions -- Press and Public -- The New Media -- Three Factors -- First Things -- Contemporary Media -- Logic of Television -- Competition and Dissatisfaction -- Hostile Media -- Collective to Individual -- Horizon -- The Goods -- Under the Magnifying Glass -- Status -- Scandals and Missteps -- They're Off! -- Sound Bites -- Bias -- Civic Disenchantment -- On the Shelves -- Election Day -- Advertising -- Debates -- Narrative and Normalization -- Heterogeneous Faces -- Our Model -- Dropouts -- Republicans -- Democrats -- Independents -- Electoral Cycle -- Regularity -- The Unexpected -- Shifting Attention -- Nonvoting -- Social Structure -- Economics of Voting -- Searching for Information -- Media and Voting -- Commercials as Instruction -- Issues and Debates -- Interest and Motive. "The media have a central role in modern politics in providing the information that individuals use to assess candidates and their platforms. Through selected coverage of poll information, political advertisements and political debates, and the coverage of political candidates, campaigns, and issues, media may influence public opinion." "The Psychology of Media and Politics discusses how this influence may occur and the impact of this influence on an individual's political impressions knowledge, and decisions. The book brings together information from a variety of fields, including communication, psychology, political science and sociology including a discussion of recent political phenomena and the implications for media and politics in the 21st century."--Jacket. Read more... Abstract: Discusses why people discount their own opinions, how media shapes the news, when this drives political decision making, and what the effect is on the future of society. This book demonstrates the ways in which the media both constrain and facilitate democratic participation. It discusses such issues as political advertising, polls, and debates. Read more... The notorious third-person effect has emerged over the past decade as a prominent paradigm for the examination of relationships between public opinion and the mass media following several years of obscurity. This book is about how individuals make political decisions and form impressions of politicians and policies, with a strong emphasis on the role of the mass media in those processes