DISCERNMENT MAGNITUDE AND THE EFFECT OF POLARIZING CUES

Abstract

Which types of issues are more susceptible to persuasion or polarization through cues provided by political elites? The central hypothesis to be tested in this article proposes that political issues with high identity value and distinctiveness favor discernment, thus becoming less susceptible to persuasion and polarization by political elites (H1). The data used in this study were extracted from an experimental database with a probabilistic sample of the American electorate. To investigate H1, we analyzed the relationship between the polarizing cues effects found in the treatments and the difference in average support for ten political issues between Republicans and Democrats. The hypothesis was confirmed by the results, both in relation to the cues provided by the Republican Party and by Donald Trump. The findings strengthen the idea of a democratic system that truly represents the values of the electorate and clearly demonstrate a limit on the impact of political leaders on public opinion preferences. However, this persuasion or polarization can still be problematic, even when focused on secondary issues, that may be of extreme relevance.