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Mixed evidence for a relationship of cognitive fatigue to political engagement

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hjermitslev, IB; Johnston, CD
Published in: Electoral Studies
June 1, 2023

Daily cognitive fatigue is widespread, yet we are still learning about its influence on political behavior. Existing research suggests fatigue will reduce consumption of politics at the margin. Moreover, when fatigued individuals do engage with political material, they should be more likely to choose content and decision rules that require minimal effort. We find mixed empirical evidence for these claims. In observational data, we find a negative relationship between fatigue and engagement, on average, but the coefficients are typically small and statistically insignificant and we find substantial variation across different measures of fatigue. In three experiments, we find mixed evidence that manipulated fatigue reduces the demand for political content over sports and other non-political entertainment. In a fourth experiment, we find no evidence that manipulated fatigue shapes heuristic versus systematic processing. We discuss the limitations of our study, its relationship to existing work, and avenues for future research.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Electoral Studies

DOI

ISSN

0261-3794

Publication Date

June 1, 2023

Volume

83

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1606 Political Science
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Hjermitslev, I. B., & Johnston, C. D. (2023). Mixed evidence for a relationship of cognitive fatigue to political engagement. Electoral Studies, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102621
Hjermitslev, I. B., and C. D. Johnston. “Mixed evidence for a relationship of cognitive fatigue to political engagement.” Electoral Studies 83 (June 1, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102621.
Hjermitslev IB, Johnston CD. Mixed evidence for a relationship of cognitive fatigue to political engagement. Electoral Studies. 2023 Jun 1;83.
Hjermitslev, I. B., and C. D. Johnston. “Mixed evidence for a relationship of cognitive fatigue to political engagement.” Electoral Studies, vol. 83, June 2023. Scopus, doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102621.
Hjermitslev IB, Johnston CD. Mixed evidence for a relationship of cognitive fatigue to political engagement. Electoral Studies. 2023 Jun 1;83.
Journal cover image

Published In

Electoral Studies

DOI

ISSN

0261-3794

Publication Date

June 1, 2023

Volume

83

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1606 Political Science