Understanding Causes of Echo Chambers: Political News Selective Exposure Across Countries
en-GBde-DEes-ESfr-FR

Understanding Causes of Echo Chambers: Political News Selective Exposure Across Countries

11/11/2024 Waseda University

New study explores how news consumption preferences are influenced by culture, political polarization, and the credibility of news outlets

A new cross-national study from Japan reveals significant differences in partisan selective exposure to news content among the United States (US), Japan, and Hong Kong, challenging the universality of this behavior across cultures. While selective exposure is a well-documented phenomenon in the US, this study shows that it is much weaker or nearly absent in Japan and Hong Kong, raising critical questions about how political environments shape media consumption habits.

In our digital age, with easy access to a vast array of information, one would think that readers would naturally be exposed to a wide range of perspectives. However, the opposite seems to be happening, especially in countries like the United States (US), where people often seek out news that reinforces their existing beliefs and avoid content that challenges them. This tendency, known as partisan selective exposure, has been linked to increasing divides and tensions between different ideological groups. But is this behavior unique to the US, or is it a universal phenomenon driven by common psychological tendencies?

To answer this, a cross-national study was conducted led by Professor Tetsuro Kobayashi from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University accompanied by Ling Liu from Waseda University, and Zhifan Zhang from Pennsylvania State University. This study examined how news consumption differs among individuals in the US, Japan, and Hong Kong. Their work was published online on October 10, 2024, in Communication Research.

Sharing their motivation for the study, Kobayashi explains, “Since political communication research is predominantly US-centric, there is a tendency to apply American findings directly to the Asian context. Our study challenges such a tendency and demonstrates the importance of conducting research that is specifically tailored to the Asian context.”

The researchers created mock news websites that presented participants with political and non-political headlines, giving them the option to select stories that either matched or contradicted with their political beliefs. They also analyzed the time spent on reading those articles.

The findings revealed that while Americans were more likely to choose news supporting their views, this behavior was less pronounced in Japan and Hong Kong.

In the US, this selective exposure is fueled by several factors,” explains Kobayashi. “The country has a highly polarized and emotionally divided political environment, and many news outlets have clear political leanings.

Over time, informational "echo chambers" facilitated by selective exposure can intensify political differences, fueling division and making it more difficult for people with opposing views to have meaningful conversations.

In contrast, Japan’s political climate is less polarized, and its news outlets are generally less partisan. Because these “echo chamber” tendencies are weaker, opposing groups may benefit from a more balanced flow of information, fostering a political climate that is less divided. Hong Kong presents a more complex case due to its unique political and media environment, but selective exposure there is still weaker than in the US.

Our research challenges the assumption that selective exposure is just a natural human tendency driven by psychology,” adds Kobayashi. “Beyond the desire to avoid cognitive dissonance, our results suggest that the media and political environment of a country play a critical role in shaping how individuals engage with news.”

This raises important questions about how to design online and offline environments to encourage people to engage with a wider range of viewpoints, which could help reduce political polarization. Understanding why this behavior is more common in some countries than others can help guide efforts to improve the way people consume news. We hope this study paves the way for more advanced research tailored to Japan.

***

Reference
Authors: Tetsuro Kobayashi1, Zhifan Zhang2, and Ling Liu1

Title of original paper: Is Partisan Selective Exposure an American Peculiarity? A Comparative Study of News Browsing Behaviors in the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong

Journal: Communication Research

DOI: 10.1177/00936502241289109

Affiliations
1Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
2Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA

About Waseda University
Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university that has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research, and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. The University has produced many changemakers in its history, including nine prime ministers and many leaders in business, science and technology, literature, sports, and film. Waseda has strong collaborations with overseas research institutions and is committed to advancing cutting-edge research and developing leaders who can contribute to the resolution of complex, global social issues. The University has set a target of achieving a zero-carbon campus by 2032, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en

About Professor Tetsuro Kobayashi
Dr. Tetsuro Kobayashi is a Professor of Political Science at Waseda University, Japan. His research focuses on political communication, political psychology, and public opinion. He earned his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Tokyo in 2009. Before joining Waseda University, he held positions at the National Institute of Informatics and City University of Hong Kong.
Authors: Tetsuro Kobayashi1, Zhifan Zhang2, and Ling Liu1

Title of original paper: Is Partisan Selective Exposure an American Peculiarity? A Comparative Study of News Browsing Behaviors in the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong

Journal: Communication Research

DOI: 10.1177/00936502241289109

Affiliations
1Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
2Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
Attached files
  • The study found that partisan selective exposure is significantly stronger in the US compared to Japan and Hong Kong, highlighting the influence of cultural and political contexts on media consumption behaviors.
11/11/2024 Waseda University
Regions: Asia, Japan, Hong Kong, North America, United States
Keywords: Society, Social Sciences, Politics, Psychology

Disclaimer: AlphaGalileo is not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to AlphaGalileo by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the AlphaGalileo system.

Testimonials

For well over a decade, in my capacity as a researcher, broadcaster, and producer, I have relied heavily on Alphagalileo.
All of my work trips have been planned around stories that I've found on this site.
The under embargo section allows us to plan ahead and the news releases enable us to find key experts.
Going through the tailored daily updates is the best way to start the day. It's such a critical service for me and many of my colleagues.
Koula Bouloukos, Senior manager, Editorial & Production Underknown
We have used AlphaGalileo since its foundation but frankly we need it more than ever now to ensure our research news is heard across Europe, Asia and North America. As one of the UK’s leading research universities we want to continue to work with other outstanding researchers in Europe. AlphaGalileo helps us to continue to bring our research story to them and the rest of the world.
Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Media Relations at the University of Warwick
AlphaGalileo has helped us more than double our reach at SciDev.Net. The service has enabled our journalists around the world to reach the mainstream media with articles about the impact of science on people in low- and middle-income countries, leading to big increases in the number of SciDev.Net articles that have been republished.
Ben Deighton, SciDevNet

We Work Closely With...


  • BBC
  • The Times
  • National Geographic
  • The University of Edinburgh
  • University of Cambridge
  • iesResearch
Copyright 2024 by AlphaGalileo Terms Of Use Privacy Statement