There’s a lot of speculation about why people gravitate towards a certain news channel, with conventional wisdom suggesting that those leaning right, as well as those on the left, logically seek out the source that most closely matches their political views.
There is some research that seems to back up this idea, specifically relating to regular viewers of FOX News.
In an article for AlterNet.com, Chris Mooney brings up an issue that was first suggested by Jon Stewart during an interview on FOX News, namely that poll after poll had shown that viewers of FOX News were consistently the most uninformed. In fact, Mooney cites at least seven studies that came to that conclusion.
The author of one study, University of Alabama psychologist William Hart, specifically looked at how selective exposure plays a role in the issue. “Selective exposure is the clearest way to look at how people create their own realities, based upon their views of the world, everybody knows this happens, Hart said.
In a study from 2009, he found that “people overall were nearly twice as likely to consume ideologically congenial information as to consume ideologically inconvenient information - and in certain circumstances, they were even more likely than that.”
The research suggests that people seek out self-affirming information when they have defensive goals - for example being highly committed to a preexisting view, particularly a view connected to a person’s core values. Another defensive motivation was closed-mindedness.
Individuals found to have these needs are labeled “right-wing authoritarians” – defined as people “who have a high degree of willingness to submit to authorities they perceive as established and legitimate, who adhere to societal conventions and norms, and who are hostile and punitive in their attitudes towards people who don’t adhere to them.”
The article goes on to state that these authoritarians have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like FOX News, where they can find affirmation and escape factual challenges to their beliefs.
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