The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic
Political polarization has dominated news coverage of Americans’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research note, we report findings from two experimental studies, in which we present respondents with news stories about COVID-19 mitigation measures that emphasize partisan difference or acc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Research & Politics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680221096049 |
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| author | Amber Wichowsky Meghan Condon |
| author_facet | Amber Wichowsky Meghan Condon |
| author_sort | Amber Wichowsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Political polarization has dominated news coverage of Americans’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research note, we report findings from two experimental studies, in which we present respondents with news stories about COVID-19 mitigation measures that emphasize partisan difference or accord. The stories present the same numeric facts about public opinion, but highlight either the partisan gap that existed at the time of the study, or the fact that large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats supported the measures at the time. Results from our first study, conducted late April 2020, show that a media frame drawing attention to shared concern across party lines produced a less polarized response to social-distancing restrictions than a frame that drew attention to partisan difference. Our findings suggest that the extensive media coverage about the red-blue divide in COVID-19 opinions reinforced partisan polarization. These results, however, did not replicate in a second study conducted much later in the pandemic. Qualitative data collected across the two studies demonstrate the degree to which polarization had rapidly become a dominant narrative in Americans’ thinking about COVID-19. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ca93695fca646c9970b1e68656fc875 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2053-1680 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research & Politics |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ca93695fca646c9970b1e68656fc8752025-08-20T03:28:01ZengSAGE PublishingResearch & Politics2053-16802022-05-01910.1177/20531680221096049The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemicAmber WichowskyMeghan CondonPolitical polarization has dominated news coverage of Americans’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research note, we report findings from two experimental studies, in which we present respondents with news stories about COVID-19 mitigation measures that emphasize partisan difference or accord. The stories present the same numeric facts about public opinion, but highlight either the partisan gap that existed at the time of the study, or the fact that large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats supported the measures at the time. Results from our first study, conducted late April 2020, show that a media frame drawing attention to shared concern across party lines produced a less polarized response to social-distancing restrictions than a frame that drew attention to partisan difference. Our findings suggest that the extensive media coverage about the red-blue divide in COVID-19 opinions reinforced partisan polarization. These results, however, did not replicate in a second study conducted much later in the pandemic. Qualitative data collected across the two studies demonstrate the degree to which polarization had rapidly become a dominant narrative in Americans’ thinking about COVID-19.https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680221096049 |
| spellingShingle | Amber Wichowsky Meghan Condon The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic Research & Politics |
| title | The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic |
| title_full | The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic |
| title_fullStr | The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic |
| title_short | The effects of partisan framing on COVID-19 attitudes: Experimental evidence from early and late pandemic |
| title_sort | effects of partisan framing on covid 19 attitudes experimental evidence from early and late pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680221096049 |
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