From Pacific Standard:
(via Book Forum)As we embark on yet another political crisis, many Americans will be getting their information from sources with a strong ideological bias. While this is hardly a new phenomenon, the proliferation of cable networks and websites that refract the news through a left- or right-leaning lens has made it easier than ever to avoid opinions that differ with your own.
Outraged!
What, exactly, is the appeal of these programs, which are so often driven by real or faux outrage? Psychological research has generally pointed to our desire to avoid cognitive dissonance—that is, information that conflicts with our strongly held (and emotionally based) convictions. But in a recently published paper, a trio of Tufts University researchers led by sociologist Sarah Sobieraj provides an alternative analysis.
“The data suggests to us that outrage-based programming offers fans a satisfying political experience,” they write in the journal Poetics. “These venues offer flattering, reassuring environments that make audience members feel good. Fans experience them as safe havens from the tense exchanges that they associate with cross-cutting political talk they may encounter with neighbors, colleagues, and community members.”
In other words, being a part of, say, the community of Rush Limbaugh listeners—an identification talk-show hosts regularly attempt to instill in their fans—is a comforting social experience. It’s a way of feeling like part of a community that shares your values (or, perhaps, prejudices).
