Abstract
Do the psychological theories of cognitive dissonance and selective exposure have bearing on how students at Dartmouth engage with news? Are students less likely to consume politically charged materials that they disagree with? Results from a true randomized survey administered to all undergraduates at the College in the classes of 2017 and 2018 found that Democrats at Dartmouth are less likely to engage with news that contradicts their political beliefs at a statistically significant level. Republicans, however, were more likely to engage with politically disagreeable news, but not at a statistically significant level.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Jase A. and Hinckley, Kristen
(2017)
"Cognitive Dissonance at Dartmouth College: Measuring Student’s Openness to Politically Incongruent Ideas,"
Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science: Vol. 19:
No.
3, Article 8.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/dujs/vol19/iss3/8