Political belief formation: individual differences and situational factors

Muradova, Lala; Arceneaux, Kevin

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781009001021.021

Political belief formation: individual differences and situational factors

Citation

Muradova L, Arceneaux K. Political belief formation: individual differences and situational factors. In: Musolino J, Sommer J, Hemmer P, editors. Cognitive sciences of beliefs: a multidisciplinary approach. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2022. p. 279-97. DOI: 10.1017/9781009001021.021

Abstract

This chapter reviews research at the intersection of psychology and political science that studies how people form political beliefs. We discuss the degree to which people's motivations shape the beliefs that they form, paying particular attention to the extent to which people's political beliefs are generated through reflection. Both individual differences and situational factors affect the extent to which people are reflective in political domains. As always, more questions remain than researchers have answered, and we conclude with some thoughts about the most pressing ones that future research should tackle.