201. Favoritism or Animosity? Examining How SNS Network Homogeneity Influences Vote Choice via Affective Mechanisms.
- Author
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Neo, Rachel L.
- Subjects
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ONLINE social networks , *FAVORITISM (Personnel management) , *VOTING research , *POLICY sciences ,UNITED States presidential election, 2012 - Abstract
Although online social networks are not exclusively homogeneous, partisans from similar political backgrounds do tend to cohere together. Interactions with these politically like-minded others could potentially reinforce their political identities and promote affective polarization between members of opposing political parties by increasing positive affect toward in-party members and negative affect toward outparty members. Such affective schisms potentially influence voting behavior--a key outcome variable that has long-term implications for policy making and governance. Using panel data collected during the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, this study shows that politically homogeneous online social networks promote positive feelings toward the in-group candidate but not negative affect toward the out-party. These positive feelings increase the likelihood of voting for the in-group candidate in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election. However, the indirect effect of online social network homogeneity on voting behavior via positive feeling is not significant. This indirect effect becomes significant when partisanship strength is accounted for, and it is particularly pronounced among weak partisans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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