Fostering learning among women: the democratic outcomes of elaborative primes

ABSTRACT

The gender political knowledge gap has proven to be persistent and pervasive. It extends across time, geography, and cultures. When it comes to national politics, women demonstrate lower political knowledge than men, and this has a detrimental effect on a deliberative democracy. The current study employed an elaborative and political socialization theoretical perspective in addressing the gender political knowledge gap. Through an experimental design and structural equation modeling, antecedents and outcomes of political learning for women were investigated. Three conditions were created through exposure to articles before watching a televised presidential debate. Women were either given a motivation prime, which explained how a political issue related specifically to women; an ability prime that provided background information on an issue; or a nonpolitical prime. Both the motivation and ability (through increased elaboration) enhanced learning. The enhanced learning predicted increased intentions to discuss the issue and seek additional issue-relevant information.

KEYWORDS:

• Gendered political knowledge gap
• political learning
• presidential debate
• elaboration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Freddie J. Jennings

Freddie J. Jennings, (PhD, University of Missouri) is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas in the Department of Communication. His research focuses on political psychology, social cognition, and political attitude formation.

Kelsey Wexler

Kelsey Wexler, (B.A., University of Arkansas) is pursuing her Master’s degree in Communication at the University of Arkansas.

Gabrielle Willingham

Gabrielle Willingham, (B.A., University of Arkansas) is pursuing her Master’s degree in Communication at the University of Arkansas.

Kate Kenski

Kate Kenski, (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on political communication and public opinion.