This study examined the relationship between attitude congruency and third-person perceptions of influence of news media.
Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of this relationship on willingness to support protests, using immigration as a topic.
Findings indicate that attitude-congruent news stories have strong perceived influence on individuals, but not on others. Individuals were supportive of attitude-congruent protests, but TPP and the news stories were unrelated to protest support.
Traditional operationalization of the behavioral component is questioned.
Co-author: Dr. Julie Andsager, University of Iowa