From Rudeness to Reflection? Elite Political Incivility Increases Attention but Does Not Lead to More Reflective Thought
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Despite lots of concern about political incivility’s negative democratic consequences, some also believe that uncivil political communication can have a beneficial outcome, by adding the necessary drama that is required to grab attention and entertain in today’s overheated media landscape. So, when politicians engage in uncivil, conflict-laden discourse, this may fulfill a democratic purpose by compelling the public to tune-in. This paper tests whether the captivating nature of politicians’ incivility can build further political engagement, by spurring citizens to reason about what is being said. A pre-registered survey experiment was conducted to investigate whether incivility could, in fact, increase reasoning and captivation (i.e. attention and entertainment). The treatment consisted of reading either a civil or an uncivil fragment from a fictional televised election debate between two politicians. Effects on citizens’ substantive reasoning capacity (perceived reflective thought and measured cognitive complexity) and captivation (perceived attention and entertainment) were measured. Findings indicate a positive effect of incivility on attention, which does not go hand in hand with increased entertainment and reflective thought. These results provide deeper insight into the effects of norm-violating elite political discourse: what drives citizens away from politics and what draws them in.
Source: Mass Communication & Society
Author: Emma Turkenburg
Institution: Wageningen University & Research
Language: English
Topic: Social Media and Politics
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204492702