IJSSER

Title: ATTITUDES ON CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: PEOPLE DO SEEK BALANCED INFORMATION AND WILL CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDES ON POLICIES BUT NOT VALUES
Authors: Lu Zeng, Dawei Da and John Leddo
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Lu Zeng, Dawei Da and John Leddo MyEdMaster, LLC John Leddo is the director of research at MyEdMaster, LLC.
MLA 8 Zeng, Lu, et al. "ATTITUDES ON CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: PEOPLE DO SEEK BALANCED INFORMATION AND WILL CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDES ON POLICIES BUT NOT VALUES." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 7, no. 11, Nov. 2022, pp. 3645-3654, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2022.v07i11.007. Accessed Nov. 2022. APA 6 Zeng, L., Da, D., & Leddo, J. (2022, November). ATTITUDES ON CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: PEOPLE DO SEEK BALANCED INFORMATION AND WILL CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDES ON POLICIES BUT NOT VALUES. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 7(11), 3645-3654. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2022.v07i11.007 Chicago Zeng, Lu, Dawei Da, and John Leddo. "ATTITUDES ON CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: PEOPLE DO SEEK BALANCED INFORMATION AND WILL CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDES ON POLICIES BUT NOT VALUES." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 7, no. 11 (November 2022), 3645-3654. Accessed November, 2022. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2022.v07i11.007.
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ABSTRACT: Today’s political world is highly polarized with a great deal of animosity on each side for the opposing side. This polarization is amplified by media that cater to partisan positions on issues, creating a narrative that people seek out information sources that bolster their initial positions and then emerge more convinced that their side is right and the opposing side is wrong. The present study investigates people’s openness to examining information on both sides of an issue and whether such examination can move people’s attitudes. 19 high school students were given a questionnaire that asked them about their attitudes on guns. The questionnaire contained purely value-related questions like whether guns are good or bad and policy-related questions like whether teachers should carry guns in the classroom. Participants were then given access to information pieces that were labeled as to their content and which side of the gun debate they advocated. Participants were allowed to view as many or as few of the pieces as they chose. After viewing the information, participants were given the questionnaire again to see if any changes occurred in their attitudes towards guns. Results showed no correlation between initial opinion on guns and whether pro or anti-gun information was looked at. Rather, there was a strong correlation between the number of pro-gun and anti-gun information pieces viewed, suggesting that people differed in the amount of information they sought rather than the type. In absolute terms, Participants’ attitudes changed on only one question, with Participants becoming more likely to believe teachers should carry guns in classrooms. Related to this, there were three questions for which Participants’ change in attitude scores correlated negatively with their initial scores: whether teachers should carry guns in the classroom, whether there should be stricter gun laws and whether assault weapons should be banned. These findings suggest that while people are unlikely to change their overall values on guns, they may be more willing to change their beliefs on specific gun-related policies.

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