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This volume provides the first comprehensive empirical examination of the "politics of truth" -- its context, causes, and potential correctives. Combining insights from the fields of political science, political theory, communication, and psychology, the experts in this volume draw compelling -- if sometimes competing -- conclusions regarding this rising democratic threat.
List of contents
- Introduction
- The Politics of Truth in Polarized America: Contexts, Concepts, Causes, and Correctives.
- Elizabeth Suhay, David C. Barker, and Ryan DeTamble
- Part I: Context and Concepts
- 1. Neither Dogmatism Nor Relativism: Lessons from the Politics of Truth in Western Philosophy
- Alan Levine
- 2. Lies, Damn Lies, and Democracy
- Robert Shapiro
- 3. The Social Function of News and (Mis)Information Use
- Benjamin Toff
- 4. The Expressive Value of Answering Survey Questions
- Matthew H. Graham and Gregory A. Huber
- 5. American Hubris: The Politics of Unwarranted Epistemic Certitude in the United States
- David C. Barker, Morgan Marietta, and Ryan DeTamble
- Part II: Causes
- 6. The Psychology of Groups and the Politics of Misinformation
- Michael Bang Petersen, Mathias Osmundsen, and John Tooby
- 7. Political Sub-Groups, Knowledge, and Information: Gun Issues and Gun Ownership
- Donald Haider-Markel, Abigail Vegter, and Patrick Gauding
- 8. Value Projection and the Marketplace of Realities
- David C. Barker and Morgan Marietta
- 9. Conspiracy Theories and Political Identities
- Adam Enders and Joseph Uscinski
- 10. Conspiracy Stress or Relief? Learned Helplessness and Conspiratorial Thinking
- Christina E. Farhart, Joanne M. Miller, and Kyle L. Saunders
- Part III: Correctives
- 11. Opinion Formation in Light of the Facts: How Correcting Mistaken Beliefs about Income Inequality Affects Public Support for Redistribution
- Cheryl Boudreau and Scott A. MacKenzie
- 12. Can Facts Change Minds? The Case of Free Trade
- Ethan Porter and Thomas Wood
- 13. Do Facts Change Public Attitudes toward Fiscal Policy?
- John Sides
- 14. Authoritarianism, Fact-Checking, and Citizens' Response to Presidential Election Information
- Amanda Wintersieck
- 15. Combatting the Anti-Muslim Rhetoric of the 2016 Presidential Campaign: An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Corrective News
- Kim Fridkin and Jilian Courey
- 16. Citizen Deliberation as a Correction: The Role of Deliberative Mini-Publics in Addressing Political Misperceptions
- Justin Reedy, Chris Anderson and Paole Conte
- 17. Intuitive Politics and Why Thinking Isn't Guaranteed to Save Us
- Kevin Arceneaux and Ryan J. Vander Wielen
About the author
David C. Barker is Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, where he co-founded the Program on Legislative Negotiation. He has written extensively on the subjects of American public opinion, electoral behavior, political psychology, political parties, and political governance, including three books: Rushed to Judgment (2002; Columbia University Press), Representing Red and Blue (with Christopher Jan Carman; 2012; Oxford University Press), and One Nation, Two Realities (with Morgan Marietta; 2019; Oxford University Press). His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and many others.
Elizabeth Suhay is Associate Professor of Government at American University. Her research on public opinion, political psychology, and political communication has appeared in The American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Political Behavior, among many other peer-reviewed outlets, and it has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Russell Sage Foundation. She is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion (with Bernard Grofman and Alexander Trechsel) and the "The Politics of Science" in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (with James Druckman).
Summary
This volume provides the first comprehensive empirical examination of the "politics of truth" -- its context, causes, and potential correctives. Combining insights from the fields of political science, political theory, communication, and psychology, the experts in this volume draw compelling -- if sometimes competing -- conclusions regarding this rising democratic threat.
