Disrespectful Democracy : The Psychology of Political Incivility / Emily Sydnor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sydnor, Emily, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Interpersonal conflict.

Interpersonal confrontation.

Communication in politics--Psychological aspects.

Communication in politics.

Democracy--Psychological aspects.

Democracy.

Political culture--United States.

Political culture.

Political psychology--United States.

Political psychology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

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

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780231548250

0231548257

OCLC:

1114600408