Finding the Truth in Politics: An Empirical Validation of the Epistemic Political Efficacy Concept |
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| Authors: | Lisa Farman Daniel Riffe Martin Kifer Sadie Leder Elder |
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| Institution: | 1. Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College;2. School of Media and Journalism, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill;3. Department of Political Science, High Point University;4. David R. Hayworth College of Arts &5. Sciences, High Point University |
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| Abstract: | Self-efficacy theory suggests that one’s perceived ability to successfully find facts may motivate political information seeking. A telephone survey of voters in a presidential campaign attempted to further validate the concept of epistemic political efficacy (EPE), or belief one can discover the “truth” in politics, and applied it to modern information-seeking behaviors. This study of North Carolina registered voters (N = 605) demonstrates that EPE adds predictive power beyond commonly used measures such as individual political efficacy for contemporary media use variables like online information seeking and partisan cable viewing. EPE was a stronger positive predictor of online information seeking than individual political efficacy. In addition, viewing partisan cable shows had a stronger relationship with EPE than mainstream TV news viewing, and EPE significantly predicted MSNBC viewing, even after controlling for partisanship. In a word, voters who are high in the belief that political facts or “truths” exist take steps to find and understand them. |
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