When and How Different Motives Can Drive Motivated Political Reasoning
Abstract
It is commonly assumed that the effectiveness of political messages depends on people's motivations. Yet, studies of politically motivated reasoning typically only consider what partisans generally might want to believe and do not separately examine the different types of motives that likely underlie these wants. The present research explores the roles of distinct types of motives in politically motivated thinking and identifies the conditions under which motivated reasoners are persuaded by political messages. Results of an experiment with a large, representative sample of Republicans show that manipulations inducing motivations for either (1) forming accurate impressions, (2) affirming moral values, or (3) affirming group identity each increased beliefs in and intentions to combat human‐induced climate change, but only when also paired with political messages that are congruent with the induced motivation. We also find no evidence of a backlash effect even when individuals are provided with clearly uncongenial information and a motivation to reject it. Overall, our findings make clear that understanding when and why motivated political reasoning occurs requires a more complete understanding of both which motivations might be active among a group of partisans and how these motivations resonate with the messaging they receive.
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It is often unclear what to target: identity, values, norms, etc.
“More generally, it is often unclear what to target: identity, values, norms, etc. (Bayes et al., 2020).”
From How to study democratic backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Bayes et al., 2020
Partisans' antidemocratic attitudes and their support for partisan violence are correlated with their perceptions of how members of the other party would act.
“Partisans' antidemocratic attitudes and their support for partisan violence are correlated with their perceptions of how members of the other party would act.26”
From How to study democratic backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
In one experiment, Republicans who received a message indicating that a clear majority of fellow Republicans agreed that the climate is changing and are taking action to combat climate change were more likely to report believing in climate change and to have climate-friendly intentions than those who did not receive this message.
“In one experiment, Republicans received a message indicating that a clear majority of fellow Republicans agreed that the climate is changing and are taking action to combat climate change. These individuals — relative to those who did not receive this message — were more likely to report believing in climate change and to have climate-friendly intentions323,324.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [324]
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- Authors
- Bayes, R., Druckman, J. N., Goods, A., & Molden, D. C.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Druckman, James N.
- Molden, Daniel C.
- Venue
- Political Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-04-24
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1031-1052
- ISSN
- 0162-895X (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9221
- OpenAlex
- W3018387282
- Cited by
- 119
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 22.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Political Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Northwestern University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Climate Change Communication and Perception
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Keywords
- motivated reasoning, political messages, message persuasion, partisanship, Republicans, climate change beliefs, moral values, group identity, backlash
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