Showdowns, Duels, and Nailbiters

• In Event: Civil Discourse and Social Media in Contemporary American Politics

Abstract

Subtle aspects of media production, selection, and framing can affect our perception of civility among political elites, thereby shaping our faith in public officials and institutions. We propose that a common journalistic frame we call the “aggressive strategy frame” fuels overblown estimates of the level of discord among political candidates. We test this hypothesis using CCES data to run an experiment using a 3 condition between-subjects design and show that aggressive strategy frames foster inflated perceptions of the level of incivility between presidential candidates. Implications for democracy are discussed.

Authors

• Dannagal G. Young, University of Delaware

• Lindsay Hoffman, University of Delaware