Effects of Issue Involvement,News Attention,Perceived Knowledge,and Perceived Influence of Anti-Corruption News on Chinese Students’ Political Participation

Abstract

Informed by the third-person effect hypothesis, this study used a survey of 1,060 Chinese university students to analyze the impact of anti-corruption news on Chinese audiences’ attitudes and political participation. This study found that university students tended to think the influence of anti-corruption news on others was greater than on themselves. In addition, issue involvement and new media attention to such news were found to reduce the self-other perceptual gap. Furthermore, the perceived effects of such news on self were positively associated with supportive attitude toward the anti-corruption policies. Meanwhile, perceived effects on others were negatively related to respondents’ political participation.

Keywords

issue involvement news attention perceived knowledge third-person effect Mainland China’s anti-corruption news

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