A new study has found that emotions are inseparable from political decision-making and even negative emotions can be linked to positive outcomes. The findings by University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) doctoral student Ekaterina Romanova and Public Relations Department Associate Professor and  Chair Myiah Hutchens, are featured in “Does Anxiety Make Us ‘Informed’ Citizens? The Mediating Role of Information-Seeking and Internal Political Efficacy in Forming Political Attitudes” published in Political Studies Review on June 14.

The authors examined the role of anxiety in forming political attitudes using data from a nationally representative American National Election Studies survey. The results provided a more nuanced understanding of how negative emotions can impact democracy.

According to the authors, “In this study, our primary goal was to examine the notion that negative emotions are not invariably harmful but can be advantageous for a democracy. We demonstrate that anxiety is strongly associated with increased internal political efficacy through elevated information-seeking tendencies. Furthermore, our model establishes a connection between an emotional state and a political outcome that is essential for the success of a democratic process—political participation.”

In another study, Hutchens, Romanova and doctoral student Brittany Shaughnessy studied the impact of uncivil news comments on media outlet trust and on the authors of news stories. Their findings were featured in “The Good, the Bad, and the Evil Media: Influence of Online Comments on Media Trust” published in Journalism Studies on June 8.

According to the authors, “Today’s media environment shatters previous walls that stood between news organizations and consumers, allowing for deliberative democracy to flourish in the comments beneath a news story.”

They add, “This study expanded previous research on the impact of uncivil comments targeted at the media generally, the news outlet, or the journalist. Ultimately, our results revealed that news comments may not be detrimental to news organizations, as they have little impact on perceived media trust. However, it is notable that when the comments were targeted at the outlet or author specifically, media trust was negatively impacted.”

Posted: July 13, 2023
Category: College News, Student News, Trust News
Tagged as: Brittany Shaughnessy, Ekaterina Romanova, Media Trust, Myiah Hutchens, Political Efficacy