Article
Motivated Reasoning and Public Opinion
Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law
(2011)
Abstract
Citizens, especially those who are knowledgeable and care the most about politics, are motivated to defend their beliefs and attitudes in the face of discrepant information. These motivated biases strongly influence the way people think about health care policies and the politicians and parties that propose or attack these contentious policies. Three cognitive mechanisms are identified: a prior belief effect, confirmation bias, and disconfirmation bias. Together, these information processes conspire to produce persistence and polarization of opinion on health care policies
Keywords
- reasoning,
- health,
- motivate,
- information,
- process,
- bia,
- motivated
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
DOI
10.1215/03616878-1460524
Citation Information
April Johnson (Strickland), Charles S. Taber and Milton Lodge. "Motivated Reasoning and Public Opinion" Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law Vol. 36 Iss. 6 (2011) p. 935 - 944 ISSN: 0361-6878 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/april-johnson/10/