The Impact of Political literacy on Political Attitudes Presented by leah Borovoi Bar Ilan University

The problem of geo-political illiteracy Introduction Methods Results Discussion The problem of geo-political illiteracy 42% believe in ghosts 32% believe in UFOs 26% believe in astrology 23% believe in witches 70% could not locate Israel or Iran 90% could not locate Afghanistan 54% did not know Sudan is in Africa 75% did not know Indonesia is the largest Muslim country Harris Poll of 2,303 adults surveyed online between November 2 and 11, 2009 by Harris Interactive. Harris Poll of nationwide representative sample of 510 adults age 18-24 in the continental United States conducted between December 17, 2005, to January 20, 2006 by Roper Public Affairs and Media “Everybody needs to believe in something….I believe I’ll have another drink” W.C. Fields

The Questions at Hand: Introduction Methods Results Discussion Who do you think show higher political literacy – those who vote for the right or those who vote for the left? What position is currently held by the person in the picture? Who is the current minister of education? Which office is currently held by Silvan Shalom? To which party Israel Katz belongs?

perceived right to left wing (z-score) Introduction Methods Results Discussion “Please rate the extent to which you are right or left wing, politically?” PIT prediction: Political Illiteracy & Bounded Rationality Left High Pol. literacy/System 2 perceived right to left wing (z-score) Low Pol. literacy/System 1 Right Prediction of bounded rationality model: Kahneman, Daniel (2003)

Scientific background Introduction Methods Results Discussion Scientific background Motivated reasoning A classic study: Hastorf, & Cantril (1954) Who Fears the HPV Vaccine? (Kahan et al, 2008) Confirmation bias Peter Wason and Philip Johnson-Laird (1972) Which cards must you turn over to prove the following statement false: "If a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other side." Professor Dan Kahan, the Cultural Cognition Project, Yale Law School. Subjects seek to confirm their hypotheses rather than genuinely test them!

perceived right to left wing (z-score) Introduction Methods Results Discussion “Please rate the extent to which you are right or left wing, politically?” Prediction: Political Illiteracy & Motivated reasoning Left Left background perceived right to left wing (z-score) Right background Low Pol. literacy High Pol. literacy Right Prediction of motivated reasoning model

Scientific background Introduction Methods Results Discussion Scientific background Attitude polarization A classic study: Lord, Ross, & Lepper (1979) Selective attention Damasio’s (1998) somatic marker hypothesis Attitude inertia Von Hippel & Trivers (2011) The adaptive unconscous Anderson (1980): Johnson & Goldstein (2003): Wilson et al. (2004) Anticipatory vs. post-event construal

Political involvement Introduction Methods Results Discussion Research Methods Political involvement N = 90 political attitudes questionnaire political literacy questionnaire N = 95 News read/watched

Introduction Methods Results Discussion Actual Votes in Ariel Actual Votes in Tel Aviv 50 women from ariel 52 women from TA

The distribution of political literacy by academic institution Introduction Methods Results Discussion The distribution of political literacy by academic institution % of correct answers 50 women from ariel 52 women from TA Ariel Tel Aviv Institution Political literacy questionnaire: 16 questions; Cronbach alpha = .75

perceived right to left wing (z-score) Introduction Methods Results Discussion “Please rate the extent to which you are right or left wing, politically?” Political Illiteracy & Academic Culture Tel Aviv University Left High Pol. literacy/System 2 perceived right to left wing (z-score) Ariel University College Low Pol. literacy/System 1 Right Low political literacy High political literacy M low, Ariel = 2.16 (SD = .91) M high, Ariel = 1.80 (SD = 1.10) M low, Tel Aviv = 3.51 (SD = 1.03) M high, Tel Aviv = 4.06 (SD = 1.11) F (1, 181) = 8.62; p < .01 Scale 0 (“very right”) to 5 (“very left”)

Introduction Methods Results Discussion Involvement News Read/Watched Academic institution Involvement News Read/Watched Political Literacy Involvement News Read/Watched Political Literacy .23* .23* Ariel Tel Aviv .45** .30** -.19+ .33** The Vote The Vote

What the source of the problem is motivated reasoning Introduction Methods Results Discussion 1. What the source of the problem isn’t: public irrationality thesis (PIT) What the source of the problem is motivated reasoning We seldom “choose” our political ideology – we are born into it. When it comes to evidence “people endorse which position reinforces their connection to others with whom they share important commitments.”  Richard Feynman Dan Kahan in Nature (1/20/2010, 463, 296-297) - The Psychology of the Resistance to Social Change Thinking

Richard Feynman Nobel Laureate “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” Richard Feynman Nobel Laureate

Thank You for Your Kind Attention please keep thinking. Questions Thank You for Your Kind Attention please keep thinking. Questions??? Leah Borovoi