Illusions of Knowledge: Media Exposure and Citizens’ Perceived Political Competence

Authors

  • Mathias Weber University of Mainz
  • Christina Koehler University of Mainz

Keywords:

political knowledge, perceived political competence, perceived knowledge, media exposure, comprehensibility, need for cognition

Abstract

 Citizens’ willingness to participate in politics is contingent on not only factual political knowledge but their subjective perceptions of competence. We argue that media exposure influences such subjective perceptions as being knowledgeable and capable of judging political issues. More specifically, we assume that incomprehensible news items impair people’s perceived political competence, while comprehensible news items strengthen citizens’ perceived knowledge and power of judgment without necessarily contributing to political learning. An online experiment reveals that cognitive style moderates the assumed relationship. Participants with a high need for cognition (NFC) feel more competent when confronted with a comprehensible news item; for participants with a low NFC, reading a less comprehensible news item resulted in a more pronounced sense of competence.

Author Biographies

Mathias Weber, University of Mainz

Dr. Mathias Weber, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Communication, University of Mainz, +49 6131 39 23209

Christina Koehler, University of Mainz

Christina Koehler, M.A., Research Associate, Department of Communication, University of Mainz, +49 6131 39 29371

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Published

2017-05-25

Issue

Vol. 11 (2017)

Section

Articles

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