• Custom Writing Services
  • How to Write a Research Paper
  • Research Paper Topics
  • Research Paper Examples
  • Order

Communication

iResearchNet

Custom Writing Services

Custom Writing Services
Communication » Media » Pluralistic Ignorance and Ideological Biases

Pluralistic Ignorance and Ideological Biases




An ideology is a consistent set of related ideas about the nature and goals of society, such as liberalism, conservatism, or socialism. Ideological bias refers to the skewed thoughts and perceptions that such perspectives can produce. One such misperception is pluralistic ignorance, an inaccurate perception of how a group member’s own opinions relate to those of the larger group. The communications media are widely believed to produce biases in public opinion, but the extent and direction of media content and effects are still contested by both scholars and political actors.

The behavioral sciences treat political ideologies as internal maps or scripts that we all make use of to interpret social and political behavior. An ideological perspective is not necessarily biased or prejudiced. Individuals with a high degree of ideological consistency tend to be well informed and to vote for candidates whose views match their own. In this sense, ideologues are the most “rational” citizens (Zaller 1992). Recent research in cognitive psychology treats ideological bias as a failure of information processing. It consists of stereotyped thinking in which new information is distorted in order to make it conform to existing beliefs (Kinder 1998). Social psychologists find that adherence to ideologies of both the far left and far right is associated with intolerance and closed-mindedness.




Ideological bias can produce pluralistic ignorance, a mistaken perception of the relationship between one’s own opinions and those of the majority. In mass publics, pluralistic ignorance represents a misreading of public opinion vis-à-vis one’s own opinion. Thus, an individual may be in the majority but inaccurately believe she is in the minority, or vice versa (Berkowitz 2004). Paradoxically, such erroneous perceptions of majority opinion can become self-fulfilling prophecies. If those who incorrectly feel they are a minority become afraid to speak out, their opponents may dominate public debate and form a new majority. This process is known as the “spiral of silence.”

The results of pluralistic ignorance may favor either side of the political spectrum. For example, in the 1970s, a time of highly publicized racial strife in the United States, white citizens incorrectly believed that most whites opposed racial integration in housing in their community. Conversely, a more recent study found that a desire to appear “politically correct” led white college students to overestimate on-campus support for affirmative action. In both cases, a “false consensus” favors vocal minorities over silent majorities, since being in the majority confers normative advantages in public debate – vox populi, vox dei.

Pluralistic ignorance and ideological bias are products as well as carriers of misinformation. Thus, the quality of information in public discourse is central to understanding both phenomena. The effects Pluralistic Ignorance and Ideological Biases of television viewing have attracted the most attention from researchers (Comstock and Scharrer 2005). For example, cultivation theory argues that television creates a surrogate reality for heavy viewers, whose perceptions of the social environment are clouded by the fantasy versions they experience on television, especially in entertainment programming. Similarly, the theory of video malaise argues that a negativistic bias in television news gives viewers an unduly jaundiced view of their social environment. Both theories remain controversial, and video malaise is now seen as a particular case of more general media negativism.

The most controversial issue, however, is whether news media content favors one side of the political spectrum. Particularly in the United States and Europe, the debate over media bias has been joined by political elites and the general public. On one hand, critics on the left indict for media for “manufacturing consent” for ruling elites, by reinforcing and legitimizing their perspectives. Conversely, political conservatives portray the news as the instrument of leftist journalists whose coverage undermines traditional social values and institutions. The question is whether the news reflects the ideological assumptions of left-leaning journalists or the economic interests of their more conservative bosses, or whether these and other influences cancel each other out. All three positions have vocal proponents (Lichter et al. 1990). Moreover, the debate over media bias is itself colored by pluralistic ignorance. For example, partisans tend to regard neutral news content as favoring their opponents (the hostile media phenomenon), and there is a widespread tendency to believe that the media influence other people more than ourselves (the third-person effect).

Communications scholars increasingly rely on content analyses to sort out such competing claims. However, this literature has produced mixed results. In the United States, for example, Democratic presidential candidates tend to get more favorable coverage than Republicans, but presidents from both parties get highly unfavorable coverage while in office. However, some broad trends can be identified. The news media do frequently ignore or denigrate marginal groups and radical voices calling for fundamental social change, as critics on the left argue. But news coverage also tends to be critical of hegemonic social institutions such as government, business, and the military, as right-wing critics contend. More generally, the media frequently draw attention to society’s problems and failures, stimulating social reform. This watchdog role can be interpreted as either a threat to traditional values and institutions or a safety valve that marginalizes dissent. Thus, despite their quite different perspectives, critics on the left and right can both claim some support for their allegations of ideological bias in the news.

References:

  1. Berkowitz, A. D. (2004). The social norms approach: Theory, research and annotated bibliography. At www.higheredcenter.org/socialnorms/theory/misperceptions.html, accessed July 22, 2007.
  2. Comstock, G., & Scharrer, E. (2005). The psychology of media and politics. New York: Academic Press.
  3. Kinder, D. (1998). Opinion and action in the realm of politics. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (eds.), Handbook of social psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
  4. Lichter, S. R., Rothman, S., & Lichter, L. (1990). The media elite. New York: Hastings House.
  5. Zaller, J. (1992). The nature and origins of mass opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.




Communication Research

Communication Research

  • Media
    • Media Economics
    • Media Effects
    • Media History
    • Media Production and Content
    • Media Systems
    • Media and Perceptions of Reality
    • Excitation Transfer Theory
    • Effects Of Exemplification And Exemplars
    • Economics of Advertising
    • Antitrust Regulation
    • Audience Commodity
    • Brands
    • Circulation
    • Commercialization of the Media
    • Competition in Media Systems
    • Concentration in Media Systems
    • Consolidation of Media Markets
    • Consumers in Media Markets
    • Cost and Revenue Structures in the Media
    • Cross-Media Marketing
    • Distribution
    • Diversification of Media Markets
    • Economies of Scale in Media Markets
    • Globalization of the Media
    • Labor in the Media
    • Labor Unions in the Media
    • Markets of the Media
    • Media Conglomerates
    • Media Management
    • Media Marketing
    • Mergers
    • Ownership in the Media
    • Piracy
    • Political Economy of the Media
    • Privatization of the Media
    • Forms of Media Corporations
    • Public Goods
    • Agenda-Setting Effects
    • Appraisal Theory
    • Media Effects on Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs
    • Cognitive Availability
    • Albert Bandura
    • Catharsis Theory
    • Steven H. Chaffee
    • Credibility Effects
    • Cumulative Media Effects
    • Desensitization
    • Diffusion of Information and Innovation
    • Emotional Arousal Theory
    • Media Effects on Emotions
    • Effects of Entertainment
    • Fear Induction through Media Content
    • Leon Festinger
    • Framing Effects
    • Frustration Aggression Theory
    • George Gerbner
    • Carl I. Hovland
    • Intercultural Media Effects
    • Elihu Katz
    • Knowledge Gap Effects
    • Latitude of Acceptance
    • Linear and Nonlinear Models of Causal Analysis
    • Mainstreaming
    • Media Effects: Direct and Indirect Effects
    • Media Effects Duration
    • History of Media Effects
    • Media Effects Models: Elaborated Models
    • Strength of Media Effects
    • Media System Dependency Theory
    • Mediating Factors
    • Mediatization of Society
    • Structure of Message Effect
    • Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
    • Effects of Nonverbal Signals
    • Observational Learning
    • Opinion Leader
    • Order of Presentation
    • Persuasion
    • Physical Effects of Media Content
    • Priming Theory
    • Media Effects on Public Opinion
    • Reciprocal Effects
    • Schemas and Media Effects
    • Effects of Sex and Pornography as Media Content
    • Sleeper Effect
    • Media Effects on Social Behavior
    • Media Effects on Social Capital
    • Social Judgment Theory
    • Trap Effect
    • Two-Step Flow of Communication
    • Secondary Victimization
    • Effects of Violence as Media Content
    • Academy Awards
    • History of Advertising
    • BBC
    • Cable Television
    • History of Censorship
    • History of Cinematography
    • History of Citizen Journalism
    • Civil Rights Movement and the Media
    • Coffee Houses as Public Sphere
    • Effects of Violence as Media Content
    • Academy Awards
    • Collective Memory and the Media
    • History of Digital Media
    • History of Documentary Film
    • History of Elections and Media
    • Electronic Mail
    • Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
    • Fleet Street
    • Fourth Estate
    • Graffiti
    • Historic Key Events and the Media
    • Illustrated Newspapers
    • Literary Journalism
    • History of Magazine
    • Music Videos
    • Nineteenth-Century New Journalism
    • History of News Agencies
    • History of News Magazine
    • Newscast
    • 24-Hour Newscast
    • Antecedents of Newspaper
    • History of Newspaper
    • Paperback Fiction
    • Penny Press
    • History of Postal Service
    • History of Printing
    • Newsreel
    • Freedom of Communication
    • Propaganda in World War II
    • History of Public Broadcasting
    • Radical Media
    • Radio Networks
    • Radio: Social History
    • Radio Technology
    • Satellite Television
    • History of Sports and the Media
    • History of Telegraph
    • Television Networks
    • Television: Social History
    • Television Technology
    • Underground Press
    • History of Violence and the Media
    • Virtual Reality
    • Watergate Scandal
    • Women’s Movement and the Media
    • Accountability of the Media
    • Accountability of the News
    • Accuracy
    • Balance
    • Bias in the News
    • Commentary
    • Commercialization: Impact on Media Content
    • Conflict as Media Content
    • Consonance of Media Content
    • Construction of Reality through the News
    • Credibility of Content
    • Crime Reporting
    • Editorial
    • Endorsement
    • Ethics of Media Content
    • Fairness Doctrine
    • Fictional Media Content
    • Framing of the News
    • Infotainment
    • Instrumental Actualization
    • Internet
    • Internet News
    • Local News
    • Magazine
    • Media Performance
    • Morality and Taste in Media Content
    • Narrative News Story
    • Negativity
    • Neutrality
    • News
    • News Factors
    • News Production and Technology
    • News Values
    • Newspaper
    • Objectivity in Reporting
    • Plurality
    • Quality of the News
    • Quality Press
    • Radio
    • Radio News
    • Reality and Media Reality
    • Scandalization in the News
    • Sensationalism
    • Separation of News and Comments
    • Soap Operas
    • Soft News
    • Sound Bites
    • Stereotypes
    • Synchronization of the News
    • Tabloid Press
    • Tabloidization
    • Television
    • News
    • Truth and Media Content
    • Violence as Media Content
    • Africa: Media Systems
    • Austria: Media System
    • Balkan States: Media Systems
    • Baltic States: Media Systems
    • Argentina: Media System
    • Bolivia: Media System
    • Brazil: Media System
    • Canada: Media System
    • Caribbean States: Media Systems
    • Central America: Media Systems
    • Chile: Media System
    • China: Media System
    • Colombia: Media System
    • Convergence of Media Systems
    • Cuba: Media System
    • Czech Republic: Media System
    • Egypt: Media System
    • France: Media System
    • Germany: Media System
    • Gulf States: Media Systems
    • India: Media System
    • Iran: Media System
    • Israel: Media System
    • Italy: Media System
    • Japan: Media System
    • Malaysia: Media System
    • Mexico: Media System
    • Netherlands: Media System
    • North Africa: Media Systems
    • Poland: Media System
    • Portugal: Media System
    • Public Broadcasting Systems
    • Russia: Media System
    • Scandinavian States: Media Systems
    • Singapore: Media System
    • South Africa: Media System
    • South Korea: Media System
    • Spain: Media System
    • Switzerland: Media System
    • United Kingdom: Media System
    • United States of America: Media System
    • West Asia: Media Systems
    • Behavioral Norms: Perception through the Media
    • Body Images in the Media
    • Computer Games and Reality Perception
    • Cultivation Effects
    • Disowning Projection
    • Entertainment Content and Reality Perception
    • Extra-Media Data
    • False Consensus
    • False Uniqueness
    • Media Campaigns And Perceptions Of Reality
    • Media Content and Social Networks
    • Media Messages and Family Communication
    • Media and Perceptions of Reality
    • Perceived Realism as a Decision Process
    • Perceived Reality as a Communication Process
    • Perceived Reality: Meta-Analyses
    • Perceived Reality as a Social Process
    • Pluralistic Ignorance
    • Pluralistic Ignorance and Ideological Biases
    • Social Perception
    • Social Perception: Impersonal Impact
    • Social Perception: Unrealistic Optimism
    • Socialization by the Media
    • Spiral of Silence
    • Stereotyping and the Media
    • Third-Person Effects
    • Video Malaise

Custom Writing Services

Custom Writing Services