Library Catalog

Disrespectful Democracy : The Psychology of Political Incivility /

Sydnor, Emily

Disrespectful Democracy : The Psychology of Political Incivility / Emily Sydnor. - 1 online resource : 25 figures

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgments -- 1. INTEGRATING THE POLITICAL AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL -- 2. THE POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY OF CONFLICT COMMUNICATION -- 3. TO LAUGH OR CRY? Emotional Responses to Incivility -- 4. CHOOSING OUTRAGE: Selective Exposure and Information Search -- 5. MIMICRY AND TEMPER TANTRUMS: Political Discussion and Engagement -- 6. A MORE DISRESPECTFUL DEMOCRACY? -- Appendix A: Additional Study Information -- Appendix B: Statistical Models and Results -- Notes -- References -- Index

restricted access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

The majority of Americans think that politics has an "incivility problem" and that this problem is only getting worse. Research demonstrates that negativity and rudeness in politics have been increasing for decades. But how does this tide of impolite-to-outrageous language affect our reactions to media coverage and our political behavior?Disrespectful Democracy offers a new account of the relationship between incivility and political behavior based on a key individual predisposition-conflict orientation. Individuals experience conflict in different ways; some enjoy arguments while others are uncomfortable and avoid confrontation. Drawing on a range of original surveys and experiments, Emily Sydnor contends that the rise of incivility in political media has transformed political involvement. Citizens now need to be able to tolerate or even welcome incivility in the public sphere in order to participate in the democratic process. Yet individuals who are turned off by incivility are not brought back in by civil presentation of issues. Sydnor considers the challenges in evaluating incivility's normative benefits and harms to the political system: despite some detrimental aspects, certain levels of incivility in certain venues can promote political engagement, and confrontational behavior can be a vital tool in the citizen's democratic arsenal. A rigorous and empirically informed analysis of political rhetoric and behavior, Disrespectful Democracy also proposes strategies to engage citizens across the range of conflict orientations.




Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.


In English.

9780231189248 9780231548250

10.7312/sydn18924 doi

2019021844


Communication in politics--Psychological aspects.
Communication in politics-Psychological aspects.
Democracy--Psychological aspects.
Democracy-Psychological aspects.
Interpersonal conflict.
Interpersonal confrontation.
Political culture--United States.
Political culture-United States.
Political psychology--United States.
Political psychology-United States.
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Media & Internet .

JA74.5 / .S948 2019

306.20973