Avoiding the other side? An eye-tracking study of selective exposure and selective avoidance effects in response to political advertising

Author(s)
Desiree Schmuck, Miriam Tribastone, Jörg Matthes, Franziska Marquart, Eva Maria Bergel
Abstract

Partisan selective exposure, the phenomenon of selectively attending to information that is in line with one's political views, has received extensive research attention. Researchers have thus far largely neglected, however, to examine the tendency to avoid attitude-discrepant information, that is, selective avoidance. Selective avoidance can be considered a different phenomenon that is not necessarily implied by, nor only occurs simultaneously with, selective exposure. This study investigates these two separate phenomena, for the first time, using eye-tracking methodology. We exposed participants to political ads by liberal and conservative parties placed next to neutral political ads and tracked eye movements unobtrusively. Findings showed that individuals paid more visual attention to political ads that were consistent with their partisan ideology. Additionally, we found that individuals tended to avoid political ads that were inconsistent with their partisan ideology, which provides some evidence for selective avoidance processes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Organisation(s)
Department of Communication
External organisation(s)
Universität Wien, University of Amsterdam (UvA)
Journal
Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications
Volume
32
Pages
158-164
No. of pages
7
ISSN
1864-1105
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000265
Publication date
07-2020
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
508007 Communication science, 508014 Journalism
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Communication, Social Psychology, Applied Psychology
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/avoiding-the-other-side-an-eyetracking-study-of-selective-exposure-and-selective-avoidance-effects-in-response-to-political-advertising(85faa150-0024-4437-bf37-697cf1f38817).html