Research

Peer-reviewed publications

Li, Q., Bond, R. M., & Garrett, R. K. (2023). Misperceptions in Sociopolitical Context: Belief Sensitivity’s Relationship with Battleground State Status and Partisan Segregation. Journal of Communication, 73(5), p.439–451. Replication data and R code

Numerous studies have shown that individuals’ belief sensitivity—their ability to discriminate between true and false political statements—varies according to psychological and demographic characteristics. We argue that sensitivity also varies with the political and social communication contexts in which they live. Both battleground state status of the state in which individuals live and the level of partisan segregation in a state are associated with Americans’ belief sensitivity. We leverage panel data collected from two samples of Americans, one collected in the first half of 2019 and the other during the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign season. Results indicate that the relationship between living in battleground states and belief sensitivity is contingent on political ideology: living in battleground states, versus in Democratic-leaning states, is associated with lower belief sensitivity among conservatives and higher belief sensitivity among liberals. Moreover, living in a less politically segregated state is associated with greater belief sensitivity. These relationships were only in evidence in the election year.

Li, Q., Hassell, H. J. G., & Bond, R. M. (2023). Journalists’ networks: Homophily and peering over the shoulder of other journalists. PLOS ONE, 18(10).

Social media plays an important role in how journalists gather and report news. To understand journalists’ professional environment, we examine the networks of journalists on Twitter who cover politics for U.S. newspapers in conjunction with a sample of journalists who completed a survey. By combining both their network data and survey responses, we examine the distribution of journalists’ ideology (n = 264) and journalistic values (n = 247); and using the network data, we examine the directional relationships between journalists working at large and small papers (n = 4,661). We find that journalists tend to form connections with those who share similar journalistic values. However, we find little evidence that journalists build professional relationships based on similarity in political ideology. Lastly, journalists at larger media outlets are more likely to be central in journalists’ Twitter networks, providing evidence that journalists look to other journalists at larger outlets for direction in news coverage. Our evidence provides unique insights into how social media illuminates journalists’ professional environment and how that environment may shape news coverage.

Li, Y., Wang, Z., & Li, Q. (2023). Presidential Communication and Its Relationship with Partisan Perceptions and Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Examination. Human Communication Research, 49(4), p.433-447.

Partisanship played a key role in shaping individuals’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The current project applies the extended parallel processing model (EPPM) to examine how the content features of White House press conferences were associated with the partisan gap in perceptions and behavior during the early stage of the pandemic. Using supervised machine learning, Study 1 analyzes the White House press conferences regarding the pandemic during 2020. The results demonstrate that the White House focused on efficacy but included minimal threat information. Study 2 uses the threat and efficacy information in White House press conferences to predict perceived threat and efficacy as well as self-quarantine behavior measured by longitudinal surveys using nationally representative samples of U.S. adults. Time-series analysis shows that an increase of threat information from the White House was associated with a subsequent decrease in the partisan gap between Democrats and Republicans on perceived threat and self-quarantine behavior by increasing perceived threat and self-quarantine behavior among Republicans. This study contributes to presidential communication research by systematically examining specific message features and linking them to public perceptions and behaviors in the context of a public health crisis. The study also extends the EPPM to a dynamic model, estimating the asymmetric effects and self-continuity of positive (i.e., efficacy) and negative (i.e., threat) information on perceptions and behaviors.

Nisbet, E. C., Mortenson, C., & Li, Q. (2021). The presumed influence of election misinformation on others reduces our own satisfaction with democracy. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review, 1(7). Appendix A, Appendix B, Data

Pervasive political misinformation threatens the integrity of American electoral democracy but not in the manner most commonly examined. We argue the presumed influence of misinformation (PIM) may be just as pernicious, and widespread, as any direct influence that political misinformation may have on voters. Our online survey of 2,474 respondents in the United States shows that greater attention to political news heightens PIM on others as opposed to oneself, especially among Democrats and Independents. In turn, PIM on others reduces satisfaction with American electoral democracy, eroding the “virtuous circle” between news and democracy, and possibly commitment to democracy in the long-term.