Many scholars and public observers worry that fragmented media outlets, nearly unlimited content, and the ever prevalent new technologies allow citizens to disproportionally seek likeminded sources and information, which – in turn – reinforce their prior political attitudes. In this presentation, I first draw from my past research to provide an overview of how people navigate choice in this media environment and on the effects of these choices on attitude polarization, an outcome increasingly relevant in the current sociopolitical climate. I then turn to the primary question: Whether and how selectivity and polarization might be attenuated. Drawing on data from two experimental studies, I show that priming common intergroup identity encourages the selection of both pro- and counter-attitudinal political content, increases individual openness to messages coming from out-groups, as well as lowers affective polarization (e.g., hostility and social distance toward out-groups, among other outcomes). In the last part of the presentation, I outline a future project that aims to explain when, why, for whom, and for what kinds of political issues exposure to like-minded or dissimilar views in old and new media amplifies polarization.

Magdalena Wojcieszak (Ph.D. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania), is an Associate Professor of Political Communication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam. Prior to joining University of Amsterdam she was an Assistant Professor at IE University, Spain.

Her research focuses on political communication, public opinion, and the effects of mass and new media on citizens’ attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. She has (co-)authored 41 articles in peer-reviewed journal (e.g., Journal of Communication, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Communication, Communication Research, Political Psychology, among others), 4 book chapters, a book, and co-edited two other books, and also served as a Guest Editor of a Special Issue of International Journal of Communication.

Magdalena is the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Communication and EastBound. She has received several awards for her research (including the 2016 Young Scholar Award from the International Association of Communication) and grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science, the Spanish Sociological Research Center, and Junta de Castilla y León, Spain. She serves as a frequent reviewer for many journals and various international science foundations.

To step beyond the academic ivory tower, Magdalena applies her research to real world conflicts, assessing public opinion about the conflict in Darfur and examining how Iranian citizens and journalists engage with online, mobile and offline communication tools.