RESUMO
There is a dearth of research on listening in the context of political conversation. Yet there is theoretical reason to believe that political listening could be an important pathway toward several democratically important outcomes including increased exposure to difference, mutual understanding, and decreased polarization. Unfortunately, listening in political contexts associated with deeply held moral beliefs and strong social identities may be among the most difficult settings for listening to flourish. On the other hand, listening is reciprocal within dyads and so a foothold of listening could, through subsequent social contagion, have potentially widespread effects. This article will review theory and research on political listening, as well as relevant scholarship on listening outside of the political domain.
Assuntos
Comunicação , Democracia , Humanos , Princípios MoraisRESUMO
How do people develop and maintain their beliefs about science? Decades of social science research exist to help us answer this question. The Integrated Model of Communication Influence on Beliefs presented here combines multiple theories that have considered aspects of this process into a comprehensive model to explain how individuals arrive at their scientific beliefs. In this article, we (i) summarize what is known about how science is presented in various news and entertainment media forms; (ii) describe how individuals differ in their choices to be exposed to various forms and sources of communication; (iii) discuss the implications of how individuals mentally process information on the effects of communication; (iv) consider how communication effects can be altered depending on background characteristics and motivations of individuals; and (v) emphasize that the process of belief formation is not unidirectional but rather, feeds back on itself over time. We conclude by applying the Integrated Model of Communication Influence on Beliefs to the complex issue of beliefs about climate change.
